i 


m 


THE    LETTERS    OF 
LORD    AND    LADY    WOLSELEY 


•       •  ••• 
!      •  ••  ' 


THE  LETTERS  OF 
LORD  AND  LADY 
W  O  L  S  E  L  E  Y 

1870— 1911 

EDITED   BY 

Sir    GEORGE    ARTHUR 

AUTHOR  OF   ' '  THE  LIFE  OF  LORD  KITCHENER  " 


LONDON:   WILLIAM    HEINEMANN 


lA' 


t^'1 


EDITOR'S     NOTE 

Shortly  before  her  death.  Lady  Wolseley  asked  me  to  read, 
sift  and  arrange,  for  the  purpose  of  publication,  the  corre- 
spondence between  Lord  Wolseley  and  herself  which  had  ex- 
tended over  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century.  Of  these 
letters,  upwards  of  two  thousand  in  number,  some  have  been 
reserved  for  the  Life  of  Lord  Wolseley,  for  which  Sir  Frederick 
Maurice  and  the  present  Editor  are  responsible  ;  some  are  of  a 
purely  domestic  character  or  otherwise  inappropriate  for  pubHc 
perusal ;  some,  written  by  Lord  Wolseley  in  his  latter  years, 
show  all  too  sadly  how  heavy  had  been  his  military  burden,  how 
strained  and  sore  the  shoulders  which  had  accepted  and  carried 
it.  Of  the  remainder,  endeavour  has  been  made  to  choose  those 
which  seem  most  apt  to  illustrate  the  relations  of  Lord  and  Lady 
Wolseley  with  one  another,  and  with  the  world  in  which  they 
moved.  Of  their  own  relations  it  can  be  briefly  said  that  they 
were  wholly  and  continuously  interdependent.  The  closest 
scrutiny  of  their  correspondence  must  fail  to  detect  the  shghtest 
puff  of  cloud  overhanging  a  union  of  unalloyed  happiness  and 
unstinted  love.  Lady  Wolseley  never  allowed  herself  to  intrude 
by  a  single  step  or  for  a  single  moment  into  the  arena  of  her 
husband's  official  duties,  but  she  enjoyed  his  unreserved  con- 
fidence ;  she  was  his  partner  in  all  his  hopes  and  cares,  in  his 
triumphs  and  in  his  troubles. 

Among  his  difficulties  there  seems  to  have  loomed  largely 
the  opposition  offered  by  the  Commander-in-Chief  to  military 
changes  which  Wolseley  held  to  be  imperatively  and  immediately 
necessary  for  the  well-being  of  the  British  Army. 

The  Duke  of  Cambridge,  rooted  ahke  in  the  confidence  of 
the   Sovereign  and  the  affection  of  the  Army,  stood  four 


5371]'j3 


vi  EDITOR'S  NOTE 

square  for  military  methods  which  even  the  Crimean  War  had 
done  little  to  disturb.  He  took  infinite  pride  in  parade  drill, 
infinite  pleasure  in  "set  "  field-days  ;  he  distrusted  the  modem 
idea  of  a  General  Staff;  he  deprecated  any  promotion  other 
than  by  pure  seniority.  While  he  urged  the  importance  of  an 
army  on  battle  footing,  he  seemed — so  Wolseley  thought — ^little 
disposed  to  fit  that  army  for  the  battlefield. 

Wolseley  hung  all  his  weight  on  to  the  opposite  end  of  the 
rope.  He  had  read  much  and  thought  more,  and  his  own 
experience  had  burnt  into  him  that  the  real  metier  of  an  armed 
force  is  to  fight,  and  that  its  true  training  is  for  the  front. 

The  Cardwell  reforms  had  refreshed  his  thirst  for  military 
efficiency,  and  to  Army  Reform  he  eagerly  dedicated  himself 
from  the  day  that  Mr.  Cardwell  summoned  him  to  the  War 
Office.  He  knew  that  his  path  would  be  stony  and  uphill — 
every  step  of  it ;  he  would  incur  opposition  and  almost  invite 
unpopularity  ;  he  would  meet  with  obstruction  at  many  turns ; 
the  winds  of  social  influence  would  whistle  in  his  teeth.  But 
nothing  daunted,  nothing  deterred  him. 

With  the  abolition  of  purchase  ^  in  1871,  cash  was  no  longer 
the  passport  to  promotion.  But  Wolseley  urged  that  merit, 
and  merit  only,  should  secure  military  advancement ;  the  work 
must  be  entrusted  to  the  best  workman  available  ;  to  selection, 
not  to  seniority,  should  be  due  all  important  appointments, 
and  more  especially  the  nominations  to  commands  in  the  field. 
Here  perhaps,  and  in  the  dominating  subject  of  short  service, 
lay  the  rock  differences  between  two  soldiers,  both  of  whom  had 
love  of  country  equally  deep  down  at  heart.  And  if  the  elder 
man  was  unhappily  arriere  in  outlook,  the  younger  was  perhaps 
unduly  impatient  in  enterprise.  The  one  wished  to  stand  fast 
altogether,  the  other  could  not  brook  a  moment's  halt.  Each 
may  have  exaggerated  the  supposed  tendency  of  the  other,  and 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge  honestly  feared — ^and  so  advised — ^that 
all  prerogative  of  the  Crown  would  be  threatened  if  free  rein 

*  The  measure  received  the  Royal  Warrant  after  being  vetoed  in  the 
House  of  Lords. 


EDITOR'S  NOTE  vii 

were  given  to  the  ardent  soldier  who  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  Crown's  entirely  devoted  servant.  Misapprehensions  and 
misunderstandings  marked,  although  they  did  not  altogether 
mar,  the  official  relations  between  the  Commander-in-Chief  and 
his  restless  subordinate.  Yet  all  the  while  there  was  a  strong 
undergrowth  of  a  feeling  which  was  little  other  than  warm 
affection  and  which  asserted  itself  when  the  cares  of  office  were 
laid  aside.  In  his  hour  of  supreme  bereavement  the  first  person 
to  whom  the  Duke  addressed  himself  was  Wolseley  ;  the  Duke's 
declining  years  were  solaced  by  Wolseley 's  dutiful  attentions, 
and  his  death  provoked  from  the  man  who  had  constantly  with- 
stood him  expressions  of  almost  passionate  regret. 

The  last  ten  years  of  Wolseley's  life  were  spent  in  retirement 
from  military  business,  his  latest  duties  being  associated,  as 
Colonel  of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards,  with  the  Gold  Stick  which 
King  Edward  gracefully  insisted  on  his  retaining  for  some  time 
after  Wolseley  had  proferred  his  resignation  of  office.  His 
activities  were  little  affected  by  the  march  of  time  except  in  his 
last  years  with  a  curious  loss  of  memory  in  so  far  as  that  memory 
was  appHed  to  recent  occurrences.  The  mist  which  conse- 
quently arose  between  him  and  current  events  caused  him 
towards  the  end  to  shrink  from  general  society,  and  served  to 
draw  closer  and  closer  the  bond  between  Lady  Wolseley  and 
himself.  He  had  always  looked  for  her  advice,  and  leant  largely 
on  her  judgment  ;  now  he  could  hardly  bear  her  to  be  out  of 
his  sight.  When  they  were  together,  every  hour  without  her 
actual  presence  seemed  to  him  an  hour  lost  ;  in  the  rare  cases  of 
absence,  her  letters  furnished  the  one  happy  event  of  the  day. 

As  she  had  stimulated  and  strengthened  him  in  his  feverishly 
busy  noon,  so  she  cheered  and  made  easy  his  quiet  evening. 
Thus  it  may  not  be  amiss,  just  before  the  publication  of  the 
official  "  story  "  of  a  very  great  soldier,  to  throw  over  some  of 
the  arcana  of  his  life  the  light  of  what  was  surely  its  happiest 
influence. 


CONTENTS 


I. 

I870-I872 

II. 

I873-I875 

III. 

1875  . 

IV. 

1878  . 

V. 

I879-I880 

VI. 

I880-I882 

VII. 

1882  . 

VIII. 

1882  . 

IX. 

1883  . 

yx. 

1884  . 

XL 

1884  . 

XII. 

1885  . 

XIII. 

1885  . 

XIV. 

1885  . 

XV. 

1885  . 

XVI. 

1885  . 

kXVII. 

1885  . 

XVIII. 

1 886-1889 

XIX. 

1890-1891 

XX. 

I 890- I 893 

XXI. 

I 892-1893 

FAGB 
I 

9 
20 

29 

39 
61 

69 
85 
94 
114 
I3« 
153 
166 

177 
203 
211 
221 
232 
263 
235 
3o4 


X 

CONTENTS 

CHAP.                                                                                                                                                                                         PAGE 

XXII.  1894 

315 

XXIII.  1894 

327 

XXIV.  1895 

331 

XXV.  1895 

342 

XXVI.  1896 

352 

XXVII.  1896 

356 

XXVIII.  1897-1898 

360 

XXIX.  1898 

371 

XXX.  1899 

375 

XXXI.  1900 

379 

XXXII.  1901 

388 

XXXIII.  1901 

402 

XXXIV.  1902-1903 

408 

XXXV.  1904-1905 

418 

XXXVI.  1906-1907 

427 

XXXVII.  1911 

434 

^ 


URGENTLY     REQUIRED 


Please  return  this  Book  to  the  Library  as 
ejuickly  as  possible,  in  order  to  facilitate 
other  Subscribers  getting  it  soon. 


[The  rebellion  at  the  Red  River  was  one  of  the  causes  which 
interfered  with  the  British  policy  of  withdrawing  troops  from 
the  Colonies,  and  in  May  of  1870  the  Canadian  Government 
decided  to  send  an  expedition  against  Louis  Riel,  who  had 
proclaimed  himself  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  President  of  the  Republic  of  the  North-West.  A 
column  consisting  of  one  battaUon  of  Infantry,  two  of  Canadian 
Mihtia,  and  a  small  party  of  Artillery  and  Engineers  under  Colonel 
Wolseley — ^then  serving  as  D.Q.M.G. — ^was  detailed  for  what 
proved  a  very  rough  task.  Between  the  head  of  Lake  Superior 
and  the  Red  River  about  500  miles  had  to  be  traversed  of  a 
region  composed  of  forest,  swamp,  bush-covered  rocks,  and  little 
lakes  of  difficult  navigation,  many  of  the  portages  being  more 
than  a  mile  in  length.  From  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  Fort 
Garry  was  only  about  100  miles  in  direct  line,  but  for  nearly 
half  the  distance  there  was  no  road,  and  a  circuitous  move  had 
to  be  made  down  the  Winnipeg  River.  Wolseley  reached  Fort 
Garry  on  the  23rd  of  August  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man, 
a  result  largely  due  to  the  care  with  which  the  expedition  was 
undertaken.      Riel  had  fled,    the  hitherto  disaffected  groups 


CORRIGENDA 

Footnote  on  page  206— /o/  1890  rciid  1895. 

Footnote  on  page  243-/01  Mr.  rccui  Mrs. 

First  footnote  on  page  404— incorrectly  printed. 

Page  221— for  "reserve"  read  "resume." 

The  letter  of  i8th  February,  1880,  on  page  59  should  occur  on  page  46. 


Axct^  Lu  uu  bu  mucn  taiKmg  tnat  my  throat  becomes  sore. 

I 


VY  otsciey. 


XXVI  I. 

1896 

XXVIII. 

I 897-1 898 

XXIX. 

1898 

XXX. 

1899 

XXXI. 

1900 

XXXII. 

I90I 

XXXIII. 

I90I 

XXXIV. 

I 902- I 903 

XXXV. 

I904-I905 

XXXVI. 

I 906- I 907 

KXXVII. 

I9II 

356 

360 
371 

375 
379 
388 
402 
408 
418 
427 
434 


THE  LETTERS  OF 

LORD  AND  LADYWOLSELEY 

1870-1872 

[The  rebellion  at  the  Red  River  was  one  of  the  causes  which 
interfered  with  the  British  policy  of  withdrawing  troops  from 
the  Colonies,  and  in  May  of  1870  the  Canadian  Government 
decided  to  send  an  expedition  against  Louis  Riel,  who  had 
proclaimed  himself  at  the  headquarters  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  President  of  the  Republic  of  the  North-West .  A 
column  consisting  of  one  battaUon  of  Infantry,  two  of  Canadian 
Militia,  and  a  small  party  of  Artillery  and  Engineers  under  Colonel 
Wolseley — ^then  serving  as  D.Q.M.G. — was  detailed  for  what 
proved  a  very  rough  task.  Between  the  head  of  Lake  Superior 
and  the  Red  River  about  500  miles  had  to  be  traversed  of  a 
region  composed  of  forest,  swamp,  bush-covered  rocks,  and  little 
lakes  of  difficult  navigation,  many  of  the  portages  being  more 
than  a  mile  in  length.  From  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  Fort 
Garry  was  only  about  100  miles  in  direct  line,  but  for  nearly 
half  the  distance  there  was  no  road,  and  a  circuitous  move  had 
to  be  made  down  the  Winnipeg  River.  Wolseley  reached  Fort 
Garry  on  the  23rd  of  August  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man, 
a  result  largely  due  to  the  care  with  which  the  expedition  was 
undertaken.  Riel  had  fled,  the  hitherto  disaffected  groups 
joined  with  the  loyal  party  in  greeting  the  soldiers,  order  was 
re-established,  Manitoba  was  added  to  Canada,  and  the  total 
bill  was  under  £100,000.] 

CHAPTER  I 


RiDEAU  Hall,  Monday,  2^th  April  1870. 

I  have  just  returned  from  the  parliament  building,  where  I  ^^Lord 
have  to  do  so  much  talking  that  my  throat  becomes  sore. 


Wolseley, 


THE  LETTERS  OF 


.The  Geheial:  cons.ults  me  upon  everything,  and  sits  heavily 
upon  that  greasiest  of  commissaires,  Ittol  Martindale.  No 
one  yet  has  been  able  to  give  me  any  information  about  our 
Governorship — I  have  in  vain  tried  to  pump  Col.  Barnard,  who 
is  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald's  brother-in-law.  Sir  John  has  been 
closeted  all  day  with  the  Red  River  Delegates,  in  hope  of 
settling  affairs  amicably.  If  I  am  to  be  Gk)vemor  and  to 
remain  there  for  the  winter,  I  will  telegraph  to  you  that 
"  Barkis  is  willing/* 

(Extract  of  letter  from  Sir  J.  Michell  to  Sir  E.  Lugard  with 
reference  to  proposed  Expedition  to  Red  River : 

"They  are  going,  I  believe,  to  send  in  command  the  best 
officer  for  the  purpose  that  I  know  of  (Colonel  Wolseley). 

**  Whatever  can  be  done  by  every  foresight,  good  sense  and 
judgment,  and  for  having  the  perfect  confidence  of  his  troops, 
will  be  done  by  him.") 

This  almost  makes  me  afraid  when  I  hear  what  others 
expect  from  me. 


RiDEAU,  2yth  April,  Wednesday, 

Lord  In  the  strictest  confidence  I  have  this  moment  been  un- 

v\/oiseiey,  Qg^^^j^lly  informed  that  I  am  not  to  be  the  Lt. -Governor.     I 

am  to  come  back  from  Red  River  in  autumn.     I  will  tell  you 

more  hereafter.     I  am  disappointed.    Never  mind ;  I  shall  meet 

you  to-morrow  evening, 

RossLYN  House,  Toronto, 
Tuesday,  ^rd  May  1870. 

Lord  I  have  passed  the  most  wretched  time  since  I  returned  from 

oseey*  Q^^g^^g^^  knowing  that  we  were  so  soon  to  part  again,  and  I 
could  not  help  reproaching  myself  for  going  away.  I  felt  as  if 
I  were  about  to  commit  some  crime.  The  fact  is,  that  soldiers 
should  never  marry.  The  bubble  reputation  which  I  seek,  not 
at  the  cannon's  but  at  the  mosquito's  mouth,  is  the  light  that 
beckons  me  on.  I  trust  it  may  not  prove  an  ignis  fatuus  that 
will  leave  me  stuck  in  some  swamp  near  Winnipeg. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  3 

RossLYN  House,  Tuesday,  10th  May  1870. 

Another  stupid  day  over  without  any  result  :   I  am  to-night      Lord 
as  ignorant  as  I  was  yesterday.     The  Government  have  been  ^^'°^^^^^y- 
so  dilatory  that  one  might  almost  think  time  was  no  object  at 
all.     General  Lindsay  left  yesterday  evening,  and  I  am  in  hopes 
that  he  is  now  in  Ottawa,  where  I  trust  he  may  be  able  to  tackle 
all  the  Ministers  to-morrow. 

I  cannot  bear  the  idea  of  you  all  alone  in  Montreal,  and  I  am 
very  sorry  that  the  Stephens  ^  are  going  home.  By  the  bye,  the 
money  he  owes  me  for  my  books  amounts  to  twenty  dollars  for 
sixteen  copies.  I  shaU  to-morrow  send  you  a  New  York  Herald, 
with  an  amusing  description  of  me.  Send  it  home  when  you 
have  read  it. 


Sault  Sainte  Marie,  2'^rd  May  1870. 

We  arrived  here  this  morning  in  a  violent  thunderstorm.  The  Lord 
camp  is  pitched  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  upper  end  of  the  ^^^^^^^y- 
rapids,  at  the  old  Hudson  Bay  Government  House,  now  fast  f aUing 
into  ruin.  Everjrthing  is  very  green  and  pretty.  Ford  Brody, 
on  the  Yankee  shore,  is  merely  a  wooden  barrack,  surrounded 
by  palisades,  having  four  parrot  guns  for  drill  purposes.  The 
Yankee  Commandant  is  an  officer  of  the  Regular  army,  as  I  hear 
all  the  others  there  are  also.  He  asked  Bolton  and  the  officers 
here  to  dine  with  him.  They  went,  and  the  Yankees  tried  to 
make  the  Britishers  drunk,  but  failed.  They  sang  **  God  save 
the  Queen  "  and  other  National  airs,  and  drank  champagne  out 
of  goblets.  On  the  19th  the  Commandant  heard  from  Washing- 
ton that  our  Expedition  was  simply  a  movement  of  British 
troops  from  one  part  of  H.M.  Dominions  to  another,  and  as  the 
emeute  at  the  Red  River  had  been  amicably  settled,  we  could 
use  the  Canal,  and  take  an5^hing  through  except  soldiers  and 
munitions  of  war.  Colonel  Offley  says  he  does  not  consider 
that  horses  or  boats  come  under  that  head. 

The  Americans  have  warned  us  to  look  out  for  Fenians,  as 
those  worthies  may  try  to  destroy  some  of  our  vessels.  The 
Chikaluma  has  been  delayed  two  days  in  getting  the  Wauhuno 
off  a  rock  ;  as  she  is  paid  by  the  day,  the  master  is  in  no 
hurry. 

1  Afterwards  Lord  and  Lady  Mount  Stephen,  ^ 


4  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Fort  Francis, 
Saturday,  6th  August  1870. 

Lord  I  hope  to  leave  this  on  the  9th  instant — so  as  to  overtake 

Wolseiey.  ipeMen  before  he  gets  to  Fort  Alexander  on  the  Winnipeg 
River.  There  I  shall  halt  for  three  or  four  days  to  collect 
the  Regular  troops  before  I  make  my  triumphal  entry  into 
the  Red  River  Settlement.  I  have  letters  from  several  people 
there,  the  English  Bishop  (Monroe)  of  Rupert's  Land  amongst 
the  number.  They  all  beg  of  me  to  lose  no  time,  but  to  push 
on  with  all  possible  speed,  as  affairs  there  are  in  a  sad  state, 
every  one  being  in  a  dread  of  the  Indians,  who  have  become 
disturbed  by  the  late  troubles  there.  A  large  number  of  them 
have  assembled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Winnipeg  River  to  await 
my  arrival.  Their  Chief  has  written  to  me  two  or  three  times 
expressing  devoted  loyalty  to  their  great  Mother  (the  Queen), 
and  abusing  Riel's  party — all  the  Indians  naturally  say,  "  You 
never  would  allow  us  to  steal  or  to  murder,  and  always  punished 
us  when  we  did  so,  but  here  is  this  man  Riel  who  has  already 
murdered  one  man,  and  who  steals  whatever  he  likes."  This 
Fort  Francis  is  a  very  pretty  place  :  all  around  is  beautifully 
green  with  luxuriant  grass,  finer  than  I  have  ever  seen  any- 
where in  America.  Some  eight  or  ten  wigwams  filled  with 
filthy  Indians  add  to  the  artistic  effect.  These  Indians  are 
dreadful  beggars,  and  expect  a  present  from  every  newly- 
arrived  person.  I  have  to  give  away  tobacco,  flour,  pork  to  the 
infidels  after  every  interview  their  leading  men  honour  me  with. 
The  Chief  has  one  half  of  his  face  painted  yeUow  and  the  other 
black.  Fort  Francis  is  a  favourite  resort  of  theirs  in  summer, 
as  the  river  here  abounds  in  fish,  upon  which  they  live  and 
grow  fat.  Below  this  the  sturgeon  are  caught  in  great  quan- 
tities, fifty  pounds  in  weight  being  nothing  for  one  fish.  I 
have  eaten  it  fried,  and  it  is  remarkably  good.  They  have 
not  yet  arrived  at  the  art  of  making  caviare,  but  I  suppose  that 
by  the  time  they  have  been  decimated  by  civilisation,  there  may 
be  a  manufactory  here  for  making  that  precious  preparation. 
Their  medicine  dances  take  place  here  every  summer.  The 
women's  part  is  to  slaughter  all  the  white  dogs  they  can  find, 
which  are  then  cooked  and  eaten  by  the  men.  There  is  some 
species  of  freemasonry  gone  through  ;  the  men  are  initiated  into 
the  mysteries  of  medicine,  the  use  of  several  plants  being  imparted 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  5 

to  them.  I  believe  that  there  are  five  degrees,  one  of  which 
can  only  be  taken  each  year  ;  the  last  consists  only  in  learning 
the  uses  of  the  poisonous  plants,  and  is  very  select.  There  are 
a  good  many  Indian  groves  about  here,  all  are  surrounded  by 
paUngs,  and  some  have  a  flagstaff  with  a  piece  of  white  cotton 
nailed  to  its  top,  erected  over  them.  The  chiefs  are  not  buried, 
but  are  placed  in  cofl&ns  upon  a  raised  platform.  When  the 
next  in  succession  dies  the  remains  of  the  father  are  taken  off 
the  platform  and  buried,  the  son*s  body  being  put  upon  the 
platform  in  its  place.  There  are  two  or  three  of  such  coffins 
here  at  present  close  to  the  fort. 

The  Franco-German  War,  of  course,  deprives  this  expedition 
of  all  possible  interest  :  who  on  earth  will  care  two  straws  for  us, 
or  for  news  from  Red  River,  when  great  events  are  being  enacted 
on  the  Rhine. 

Fort  Alexander, 
Sunday,  21st  August  1870. 

Mr.  Smith  1  has  just  informed  me  that  he  has  named  the  Lord 
Hudson  Bay  Post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Winnipeg  River,  Fort  ^"^^^^^y- 
Louisa,  after  you — ^that  at  their  great  council  he  had  proposed 
this  arrangement,  and  that  it  had  been  unanimously  agreed  to. 
Another  post,  at  the  north-west  comer  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
has  been  named  Fort  Wolseley,  so  you  see  your  fame  is  being 
recorded  geographically.  I  leave  this  place  with  all  the  Regulars 
to-day  at  3  p.m.,  and  hope  to  be  in  the  Red  River  Settlement  to- 
morrow evening ;  and,  please  God,  I  shall  hoist  up  the  Union 
Jack  over  Fort  Garry  on  Thursday  morning,  or  at  least  some 
time  during  the  day.  I  hope  Riel  will  have  bolted  ;  for  although 
I  should  like  to  hang  him  to  the  highest  tree  in  the  place,  I 
have  such  a  horror  of  rebels  and  vermin  of  his  kidney,  that 
my  treatment  of  him  might  not  be  approved  by  the  civil  powers 
in  these  puling  times  of  weak  measures  and  timid  policy. 


Fort  Garry,  26th  August  1870. 

I  marched  in  here  with  all  the  honours  of  war  this  morning.      Lord 
It  poured  all  last  night  and  all  to-day.     When  we  heard  that  ^o^^^^'^y- 
Riel  and  his  army  !  !  !  were  still  in  the  Fort,  we  all  forgot  the 
*  Afterwards  Lord  Strathcx^na. 


6  THE  LETTERS  OF 

rain,  and  every  one  was  eager  to  have  a  shot  at  him.  I  cannot 
tell  you  how  disappointed  all  are  that  we  have  not  had  a  chance 
of  ridding  the  world  of  this  cowardly  murderer.  We  drew  up 
in  battle  array  in  front  of  the  Fort,  hoisted  the  Union  Jack, 
saluted  it  with  twenty-one  guns,  presented  arms,  and  gave  three 
cheers  for  the  Queen.  Then  the  men  gave  three  cheers  for 
Colonel  W.  I  have  not  had  any  sleep  for  twenty-four  hours,  and 
only  a  few  hours'  sleep  for  the  last  forty-eight  hours,  so  I  can 
scarcely  see.  It  is  now  nearly  three  in  the  morning,  and  I  have 
been  writing  all  night.  This  goes  by  a  special  messenger  to  St. 
Cloud  in  Minnesota  in  an  hour's  time — also  a  telegram  to  you. 
I  hope  they  may  not  faU  into  the  hands  of  Riel ;  he  would  be 
as  much  amused  by  them  as  I  have  been  by  the  letters  and 
high-flown  proclamation  which  he  left  behind  him  on  his  table. 
He  bolted  in  such  a  hurry  that  he  had  not  time  even  to  finish  his 
breakfast,  which  was  devoured  by  our  servants.  I  am  sure  to 
have  the  Regular  troops  back  by  ist  October. 


Fort  Garry, 
Thursday,  ist  September  1870. 

Lord  The  last  detachment  of  the  50th  Rifles  left  this  afternoon  on 

Woiseiey.  ^j^gjj.  j-gtum  joumey.  The  small  detachment  of  Royal  Artillery 
and  Engineers  wiU  start  on  Saturday.  I  shall  wait  here  until 
about  the  9th  or  loth,  and  then  hope  to  bid  a  long  adieu  to 
Fort  Garry  and  Red  River  affairs.  The  troops,  with  the 
exception  of  one  company,  return  by  the  same  route  as  that 
by  which  they  came.  One  company  has  gone  by  road  to  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods  (about  100  miles)  and  will  embark  there. 
I  intend  doing  the  same.  I  shall  wait  at  Fort  Louisa  for  my 
canoe  ;  at  any  rate,  I  shall  wait  at  Fort  Francis  until  I  hear 
that  aU  the  Regulars  have  got  there  safely. 

I  have  this  moment  received  a  telegram  from  General  Lindsay 
that  CardweU  ^  had  declined  to  aUow  any  Regular  troops  to  re- 
main here  for  the  winter.  I  am  glad  of  this  for  their  sakes. 
Besides,  I  have  already  sent  away  all  the  60th,  and  I  should  not 
like  to  have  to  recall  any.  Gov.  Archibald  has  just  arrived  ; 
he  is  loud  spoken  in  his  praise  of  what  we  have  done. 

^  Edward  CardweU  [1813-86] ;  created  Viscount  Cardwell.  War  Secre- 
tary, 1868-74. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  7 

[On  Colonel  Wolseley's  return  from  Canada  he  was  appointed 
A.A.G.  at  Headquarters,  and  was  closely  associated  with  Mr. 
Cardwell's  Army  Reforms.] 

At  Manceuvres,  19/8/72. 

I  seldom  have  five  minutes  to  myself  :  I  shall  be  interrupted  Lord 
in  this  note  many  times,  men  coming  to  say  that  their  wives  ^°^^^^' 
are  very  ill,  or  their  eldest  child  has  the  pip,  and  that  they  want 
leave,  etc.  etc.  There  is  Uttle  or  nothing  to  tell  you,  for  our 
thoughts  and  hourly  work  here  are  all  upon  soldiering,  and  I  am 
sure  you  would  not  care  to  hear  my  views  upon  field-work,  or 
the  latest  ideas  regarding  field  artillery,  etc.  Yesterday  we 
had  a  quiet  time  and  gave  our  horses  a  rest.  Our  Controller 
evidently  considers  himself  to  be  a  man  of  great  importance, 
and  has  an  air  about  him  as  if  he  commanded  the  Army.  I  am 
to  dine  in  Blandford  this  evening,  to  meet  Sir  Richard  Airey 
and  the  Quartermaster-General,  so  you  see  I  am  quite  "  in 
society  '*  here.  Don't  send  me  any  grouse  if  you  get  any — 
one  of  the  General's  A.D.C.'s,  a  young  fellow  of  ten  thousand  a 
year,  has  a  moor  of  his  own,  and  we  get  as  much  as  we  can  eat. 


Camp,  near  Blandford,  27/8/72. 

We  have  had  a  grand  show  for  the  Japanese  ambassadors  Lord 
to-day,  which  went  off  very  well — ^they  looked  such  guys  in  ^^^^y- 
European  dresses  ;  in  fact,  they  looked  like  Methodist  ministers 
out  for  a  holiday.  Your  bottle  of  stuff  has  not  turned  up.  I 
am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  trouble  you  have  taken 
about  it,  but  you  know  my  nose  is  accustomed  to  this  exciting 
state  of  affairs,  and  although  I  have  been  similarly  affected 
about  twice  in  every  year  of  my  life,  I  have  never  found  out 
anything  that  did  me  any  good.  Dear  old  Sir  John  ^  is  as  fussy 
as  ever.  I  am  very  fond  of  him,  but  he  tries  my  temper  occasion- 
ally by  his  benevolent  wish  to  have  his  finger  in  everybody's 
pie.  But  I  contrive  to  "  manage  "  him  very  fairly  and  we  get 
on  very  well  together.  I  am  glad  to  find  that  the  essay  which 
gained  the  Wellington  Prize  quotes  The  Soldier*s  Pocket  Book 
frequently  ;  I  consider  that  not  only  a  compliment  but  a  good 
advertisement  for  the  great  work. 

*  Sir  John  Michell,  G.O.C.  troops  on  manoeuvres. 


8      THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

Camp,  Blandford,  29/8/72. 

Lord  Our  battle  of  to-day  was  a  grand  affair  and,  as  a  spectacle, 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^y  ^^^y  pretty.     I  have,  I  know,  made  numerous  enemies 

by  being  called  upon  to  give  decisions  as  an  umpire.     Mrs. 

and  her  sister attend  all  our  field-days.     She  looks  badly 

on  horseback,  having  a  very  round  back  and  being  fat  and 
ungainly  ;  her  sister  is  decidedly  good-looking  ;  will  she  go  the 

same  way  of  life  ?      Mrs. 's  income  is  about  £500  a  year, 

and  yet  we  find  them  everywhere  living  in  the  best  way.  The 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  and  a  large  party 
come  down  here  to  stay  with  Sturt  ^  at  Crichel,  on  Saturday,  so 
I  suppose  we  shall  have  a  long  field-day  on  Monday  for  their 
amusement. 

I  am  proud  of  a  remark  made  yesterday  by  one  of  these 
fine  ladies  who  bother  us  here.  Some  one  was  showing  them 
round  the  camp  and  they  looked  into  all  the  tents  one  by  one, 
most  of  them  well  fitted  up  with  beds,  tables,  etc.,  but  when 
they  looked  into  mine  and  saw  my  bed  made  on  the  ground 
and  Holmes'  glass  hanging  on  the  pole  as  my  solitary  ornament, 
they  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  this  is  a  private's  tent  I  "  Tell  that  to 
Holmes. 

Saturday,  315^  August  1872. 

Lord  I  am  to  ride  over  in  the  afternoon  with  Sir  John  to  Crichel, 

^  ^^'  to  pay  our  respects  to  T.R.H.  We  are  inundated  with  women 
here,  and  I  shall  be  glad  when  we  start,  so  as  to  get  beyond  the 
region  of  Sir  John's  friends — ^at  present  they  swarm  round  him 
like  bees  on  a  sugar  barrel.  I  want  you  to  cut  out  from  the 
Times  of  Wednesday  and  Thursday  the  Military  articles  on  the 
Etappen  arrangements  in  the  Prussian  Army.  _^ 

The  Duke  is  to  have  a  grand  parade  here  on  Monday,  at 
which  I  suppose  ladies  of  all  sorts  and  sizes  will  appear  on 
horseback.  I  shall  let  you  know  who  turn  up.  If  I  had  cared 
to  make  acquaintances  I  might  have  come  to  know  half  the 
county  by  this  time,  but  I  have  not  always  patience  to  bear 
with  women's  conversation  :  you  are  the  only  woman  in  the 
world  who  amuses  me  or  to  whom  I  can  talk  with  real  pleasure 

1  Mr.  Gerard  Sturt,  afterwards  first  Lord  Alington. 


I873-I875 

[In  August  1873,  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley^  was  selected  to  com- 
mand the  troops  on  the  Gold  Coast  during  the  Ashantee  War, 
with  the  rank  of  Major-General.  He  arrived  in  advance  of 
his  troops,  whom  he  endeavoured  to  supplement  with  native 
levies,  and  commenced  his  inland  march  just  before  the  close  of 
the  year.  His  difficulties  were  many  and  multiform,  but  the 
enemy,  despite  a  stubborn  resistance,  was  accounted  for  without 
any  serious  check. 

The  Ashantees  made  a  final  stand  near  their  capital,  and 
Wolseley,  after  infficting  a  decisive  defeat,  entered  Coomassie 
on  5th  February  1874  to  receive  the  submission  of  King  Koffee, 
who  agreed  to  appoint  Commissioners  to  conclude  a  treaty. 
On  his  return  march,  Wolseley  halted  at  Adamsi  to  await  the 
Ashantee  agents — the  King's  fidelity  to  his  engagements  being 
confirmed  by  the  opportune  arrival  of  Captain  Glover  with 
a  considerable  contingent  force  on  the  north  of  Coomassie. 
Wolseley  returned  to  England  to  receive  the  thanks  of  Parlia- 
ment, a  grant  of  £25,000  for  his  courage,  energy,  and  persever- 
ance, and  the  freedom  of  the  City  of  London,  and  also  to  assume 
the  command  of  the  Auxiliary  Forces.] 

CHAPTER   II 

Sierra  Leone,  2yth  September  1873. 

Just  a  line  to  say  we  have  arrived  here  ;  a  very  pretty  place.  Lord 
so  green,  but  with  plenty  of  *'  rank  vegetation."  The  Governor's  ^^^^^^^v- 
House,  where  I  write  this,  is  an  old  battery  situated  behind  the 
town  on  high  ground  overlooking  the  harbour.  I  landed  in 
state,  but  as  there  are  only  a  few  soldiers  here,  and  no  service- 
able guns,  I  had  to  dispense  with  a  salute,  which  I  know  you 
will  regret  very  much.  A  guard  of  honour  of  armed  police  met 
me  on  the  landing,  and  the  "  population  "  followed  me  as  a 
howling  crowd  from  the  seabeach  to  Government  House.  I 
steamed  into  harbour,  having  a  Union  Jack  flying  at  the  fore- 

1  K.C.M.G.,  1870. 
9 


10  THE  LETTERS  OF 

mast,  which  it  appears  is  the  right  of  a  Governor,  and  the 
Government  steamer  dressed  immediately  with  all  her  flags. 
A  large  barge  came  off  for  me  and,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life, 
I  felt  quite  like  a  Royal  personage,  also  rather  like  a  "  super  " 
on  the  stage.  The  Governor,  Mr.  Berkeley,  is  a  nice  little  fellow  ; 
his  appearance  is  not  commanding,  but  his  behaviour  is  kind. 
I  am  dropping  one  officer  here  to  recruit,  and  sending  the 
others  to  the  Gambia  to  do  the  same  ;  I  intend  leaving  another 
at  Cape  Palmas  also.  The  heat  here  is  nothing  like  in  India, 
but  steamy.  The  negroes  are  like  so  many  monkeys  ;  they  are 
a  lazy,  good-for-nothing  race,  no  matter  what  Exeter  Hall  may 
say  to  the  contrary. 

Government  House,  Cape  Coast, 
6th  October  1873. 

Lord  I  wonder,  as  I  pray  for  you  every  morning  and  every  evening, 

Woiseiey.  jf  yQ^  a,re  at  the  same  moment  praying  for  me.  Tell  me  when 
you  write  that  you  do  not  forget  me  in  your  prayers  ;  I  always 
beg  of  God  to  bless  you  and  by  means  of  His  Holy  Spirit  to  turn 
your  thoughts  more  and  more  to  Him  every  day  that  you  live, 
and  that  you  may  learn  to  love  and  serve  and  thank  Him. 
Do  you  mind  my  talking  thus  ?  or  do  you  think  my  preaching 
out  of  place  ?  I  am  to  see  these  wretched  Kings  and  Chiefs 
again  in  half  an  hour's  time,  and  receive  their  answer  to  my 
proposition.  I  shall  enclose  in  this  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  the 
King  of  Ashantee  ;  it  is  for  Holmes'  perusal.  No  one  else  is 
to  see  it  or  know  that  I  have  sent  it.  I  hope  you  and  he  will 
approve  of  it. 

Later. — I  have  seen  the  Kings  and  they  seem  well  pleased, 
but  they  say  they  have  no  power  over  their  men.  I  shall  not 
get  much  out  of  them  until  I  have  had  a  success  somewhere. 
I  shall  write  home  for  the  European  troops,  for  I  can  do  little 
without  them.  The  gun  fires  here  at  5  a.m.  I  have  a  biscuit, 
a  cup  of  chocolate,  and  a  quinine  pill  ;  dress  and  walk  with 
M'Neill  1  for  an  hour  ;  return  very  hot,  take  off  my  saturated 
things,  and  bathe  ;  breakfast,  work  all  day,  dine  at  7  p.m.,  and 
crawl,  worn  out,  to  bed  at  10.  I  have  not  felt  so  well  for  a 
long  time  as  I  do  now,  and,  please  God,  I  hope  to  keep  my 
health  all  through.  Colonel  Leeting,  who  is  a  careful  man  and 
who  came  out  with  the  marines  before  the  worst  of  the  season 
1  Afterwards  Major-General  Sir  John  M'Neill,  V.C. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  il 

was  over,  and  has  been  here  all  through  it,  has  never  been  ill 
for  a  day.  The  Chief  Justice,  a  one-armed  man  named  Marshall, 
has  been  here  for  three  months  and  never  a  day  ill.  All  those 
I  brought  out  are  still  as  well  and  jolly  as  they  were  at  home. 
8th  October. — We  had  a  man  hanged  here  this  morning 
from  the  lighthouse  tower  on  Fort  William,  so  all  the  world 
could  see  the  execution  ;  the  town  was  on  the  qui  vive,  and  seemed 
as  well  pleased  as  if  a  balloon  had  been  sent  up  for  their  amuse- 
ment. The  man  had  murdered  a  poor  slave  girl  in  the  bush  for 
something  trifling  she  had  about  her,  so  I  do  not  pity  him.  But, 
as  usual,  the  execution  was  a  bungle,  as  the  bolts  could  not  be 
drawn,  and  the  poor  devil  was  consequently  kept  waiting  for 
some  minutes  standing  on  the  drop. 


Cape  Coast,  lyth  October  1873. 

I  have  written  such  long  dispatches  about  our  fight  and  Lord 
so  numerous  will  be  the  newspaper  accounts  of  it,  that  I  shall  ^°^^^* 
not  weary  either  you  or  myself  by  going  over  the  story  here. 
It  was  a  complete  success,  but  poor  M'Neill's  dangerous  wound 
throws  a  damper  upon  the  affair.  He  bled  so  profusely  that 
my  clothes  and  waterbottle  were  dyed  with  his  blood  ;  he  is  a 
man  of  the  right  sort,  for  he  took  his  wound  like  a  soldier, 
although  the  pain  was  excruciating.  He  is  going  on  well  and 
hopes  to  be  able  to  be  about  again  in  six  weeks.  The  danger 
is  that  lockjaw  may  ensue,  as  all  the  tendons  of  his  left  wrist 
have  been  torn  away.  It  is  hard  luck  that  such  a  good  officer 
should  have  been  struck  down  in  such  a  trifling  affair,  but 
"  God  is  Great,"  as  the  Moslems  say,  and  we  must  not  cavil  at 
His  decrees.  Any  war  brings  one  to  think  more  seriously  than 
when  sitting  at  home  at  ease,  and  makes  one  reaHse  how  de- 
pendent we  are  upon  Him  for  everything.  Our  life  is  a  frail 
affair,  the  cord  of  which  is  easily  and  rapidly  snapt  at  all  times, 
whether  at  home  or  abroad.  I  trust  that  God  will  spare  me 
to  carry  out  this  campaign  successfully  :  but  the  personal 
ambition  of  which  my  very  heart  was  at  one  time  so  full,  has  in 
great  measure  died  out  within  me,  and  I  have  often  of  late 
wished  that  I  could  be  taken.  Don't  vote  these  thoughts 
gloomy.  I  never  was  in  better  health  or  in  better  or  higher 
spirits  outwardly  than  at  present,  but  I  feel  a  sort  of  relief  and 
comfort  in  telling  you  just  what  I  think  and  feel. 


12  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  enclose  you  some  visiting  cards.  Only  fancy  ladies  with 
cards  here  ;  their  complexions  vary  from  the  colour  of  an  old 
saddle  to  that  of  a  Spaniard.  Three  ladies  paid  me  a  visit 
yesterday,  all  got  up  in  swell  hats  that  smacked  of  Bond 
Street. 

Some  of  the  nohle  people  for  whom  we  are  about  to  make 
war  have  just  gone  by  the  house  carrying  the  head  of  an 
Ashantee  in  triumph.  They  wanted  to  bring  it  here  to  show 
me,  but  I  sent  down  word  to  say  that  if  ever  I  caught  a  man 
bringing  in  a  head  here,  I  would  have  him  flogged. 

i^th  October. — I  keep  up  a  very  lengthy  correspondence 
with  H.R.H.,  which  is  rather  a  tax  upon  my  time,  as  I  have  to 
tell  him  all  sorts  of  fiddling  things.  Gallant  little  M'Calmont  ^  is 
ill ;  the  doctors  said  he  was  not  strong  enough  for  the  job.  He 
has  been  on  board  the  Simoon  for  some  days  and  does  not  mend 
rapidly.  My  other  A.D.C.  is  as  strong  as  a  lion — I  never  met 
a  finer  fellow  in  every  way  :  he  works  hard  all  day  and  feeds 
us  very  fairly  ;  he  is  the  stuff  for  a  soldier  and^  has  a  good  head 
on  his  shoulders.  The  best  thing  to  eat  is  the  fish  :  the  best 
sort  is  a  herring.  The  sheep  are  so  small  that  the  whole  animal, 
minus  the  head  and  shoulders,  is  about  the  size  of  a  very  large 
hare,  with  less  meat  on  it. 

Monday,  20th  October. — I  enclose  you  the  copy  of  a  proclama- 
tion I  have  issued.  It  is  penned  in  a  fine  Bombast es  Furioso 
style. 

Have  you  seen  a  bad  pun,  although  very  flattering  to  me, 
regarding  my  name,  Garnet,  in  the  Punch  of  27th  September. 
I  feel  so  uncomfortable  when  I  read  all  this  "  high  talk  "  about 
myself  in  the  newspapers,  and  have  a  sinking  within  me  when 
I  think  how  coarse  would  be  the  abuse  of  this  same  writer  if  I 
failed. 

2srd  October. — ^The  women  here  wear  the  funniest -looking 
bustle,  made,  I  believe — I  have  not  yet  personally  inspected  one 
— of  rolls  of  cotton  stuff  upon  which  the  baby  sits  astride,  a 
cloth  being  fastened  round  the  little  beggar's  back  so  that 
nothing  is  seen  but  its  head  and  sometimes  its  arms.  It  some- 
times gets  round  so  as  to  suckle  the  very  long  breasts  of  the 
mother.  The  women  wear  their  hair  in  spikes  twisted  round 
with  string.  It  is  really  far  from  unbecoming,  especially  as 
their  hair  is  more  like  wool  than  hair. 

'  Afterwards  Major-General  Sir  Hugh  M'Calmont. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  13 

3rd  November  1873. 

I  went  on  board  the  Simoon  yesterday  to  see  M'Neill.  He  Lord 
is  getting  on  well,  walks  about  the  deck,  and  tries  to  look  jolly,  ^o^^'^v- 
although  I  know  at  his  heart — apart  from  the  bodily  pain  he 
suffers  at  times — there  is  gnawing  disappointment  that  he 
cannot  take  an  active  part  ashore.  For  a  soldier  such  as  he  is, 
I  know  of  nothing  more  trying.  I  once  had,  during  the  siege 
of  Sebastopol,  to  go  on  the  sick  list  from  dysentery  ;  I  stuck  to 
my  work  as  long  as  I  could,  till  the  doctors  said  I  must  go  away. 
I  was  sent  on  board  ship  outside  Balaclava  for  a  fortnight.  As 
I  sat  on  the  deck  in  the  evening  and  heard  the  booming  of  the 
guns  at  the  front,  I  felt  I  must  jump  overboard  and  swim  for 
shore.  The  feeling  that  I  was  in  safety  whilst  others  were  doing 
my  duty  horrified  me  into  a  good  state  of  health,  and  at  the 
end  of  a  week  I  went  ashore  and  returned  to  work.  I  can  see 
all  this  in  M'Neill's  face,  and  pity  him  from  my  heart.  I  am 
sorry  to  say  that  Charteris  ^  had  to  go  on  board  ship  yesterday, 
being  really  taken  there  by  force  ;  he  has  been  unwell  for  several 
days,  but  kept  his  illness  secret,  which  is  foolish,  although  I  can 
fully  enter  into  the  reasons  he  had  for  doing  so.  M'Calmont 
(the  King,  as  he  is  called  here)  is  still  sick  and  will  have  to  go 
home,  I  fear.  If  he  does  I  shall  take  a  Captain  Owen  Lanyon 
(W.I.  Regiment)  to  replace  him  ;  a  very  good  soldier  and  accus- 
tomed to  personal  staff  work.  If  this  reaches  you  before 
Colonel  Greaves  leaves  England,  please  send  me  out  a  box  or  two 
of  really  good  Havanas,  for  many  sailors  dine  with  me  here  and 
make  large  hauls  upon  my  tobacco.  I  smoke  three  or  four  cigars 
myself  every  day,  and  find  they  agree  with  me.  Every  moment 
I  hope  to  hear  from  Baker  Russell  2  that  he  has  been  attacked 
this  morning.  The  bulk  of  the  Ashantee  army  is  close  to  his 
post,  and  the  Ashantee  commander-in-chief  has  declared  his 
determination  to  take  it.  If  only  he  would  try,  it  will  be  a 
grand  thing  for  Russell,  and  a  good  thing  for  all  of  us.  The 
bulk  of  the  men  are  now  cleared  out  of  Cape  Coast,  leaving  the 
women  behind  ;  these  ladies  parade  the  streets  dancing  and 
singing,  their  bodies  daubed  over  with  white,  and  very  scanty 
clothing  to  veil  their  charms.     One  of  our  traction  engines  is 

^  Hon.  Alfred  Charteris,  third  son  of  tenth  Earl  of  Wemyss,  Lieutenant, 
71st  Foot,  died  at  sea,  24th  November  1873. 
'  Afterwards  Lieut-Gen.  Sir  B.  Russell. 


14  THE  LETTERS  OF 

now  at  work  here,  to  the  utter  astonishment  of  the  natives, 
who  had  never  seen  such  a  thing  before.  The  day  before 
yesterday  I  sent  a  letter  to  the  king  at  Coomassie  by  an 
Ashantee  prisoner ;  in  order  to  impress  him  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, I  sent  him  part  of  the  road  in  a  waggon  drawn  by  the 
engine.  I  should  like  to  hear  his  description  of  the  screaming 
monster. 

4th  November. — Last  night  a  scrawl  was  put  into  my  hand  say- 
ing, "  Poor  Wilmot's  remains  go  to  Cape  Coast  with  this  note — 
please  have  a  coffin  ready  for  them  ;  nearly  all  our  of&cers 
wounded."  Later  on  I  received  a  letter  from  Colonel  Festing, 
giving  me  an  account  of  his  skirmish  :  Wilmot  was  badly  hit 
early,  but  held  on  so  as  to  get  these  cowardly  Fantees  to  fight, 
until  he  was  shot  through  the  heart  ;  he  died  almost  at  once  in 
Colonel  Festing's  arms,  Festing  being  hit  by  a  slug  in  the  hip 
when  bearing  him  out  of  fire.  God's  will  be  done;  it  seems 
hard  that  a  fine  young  soldier  should  lose  his  life  in  trying  to 
make  a  cowardly  race  fight  for  their  own  country.  The  more 
I  see  of  these  Fantees  the  more  I  feel  convinced  that  they  ought 
to  be  the  slaves  of  the  Ashantees,  who,  however  barbarous, 
have  at  least  the  virtue  of  courage.  A  brave  man  can  be  con- 
verted into  a  good  man,  but  a  coward  is  fit  for  nothing  and 
capable  of  nothing  good. 

Things  go  on  well,  and  I  am  in  a  much  better  position  now 
than  I  at  first  expected  to  be  in  on  this  date.  The  prime  object 
of  my  mission  has  been  accomplished  ;  Her  Majesty's  pos- 
sessions on  the  Coast  are  no  longer  menaced  by  large  hostile 
camps  in  their  neighbourhood.  I  have  now  to  clear  the  so- 
called  Protectorate  of  Ashantees,  and  have  frequent  skirmishes 
with  the  enemy's  retreating  columns.  The  third  object,  to 
inflict  a  severe  blow  upon  the  Ashantee  power,  can  only  be 
fulfilled,  as  I  have  already  reported  home,  with  the  aid  of 
European  troops.  I  have  sent  Butler  into  Western  Akim  to 
raise  the  people,  who  are  a  better  race  than  these  Fantees  ; 
if  he  succeeds,  I  may  yet  be  able  to  punish  the  enemy  before 
he  gets  back  behind  the  river  Prale.  With  one  more  battalion 
of  English  soldiers  I  would  go  in  at  these  fellows  and  smash 
them  up. 

^th  November. — In  reading  the  Psalms  this  evening  I  came 
upon  a  verse  that  brought  back  my  early  days  most  vividly. 
My  father  was  so  unfortunate  in  the  Service  that  he  did  not  wish 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


15 


any  of  his  sons  to  become  soldiers  ;  I  was  reared  with  the  idea 
of  taking  Orders,  and  as  a  Httle  boy  always  said  that  I  should 
have  for  the  text  of  my  first  sermon  the  last  verse  of  the  27th 
Psalm — I  remember  it  by  heart  still,  as  given  in  the  Bible  ver- 
sion :  **  Wait  on  the  Lord  :  be  of  good  courage,  and  He  shall 
strengthen  thy  heart  :  wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord."  I  quote  from 
memory,  as  I  have  no  Bible  with  me,  and  the  Prayer  Book  version 
is  not  nearly  such  a  good  motto  for  a  soldier.  M'Neill,  M'Cal- 
mont,  and  Captain  Godwin  all  go  home  by  the  first  steamer 
that  arrives  with  a  clean  bill  of  health,  for  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  vessels  are  bringing  men  with  infectious  fevers — so  much 
so,  that  the  first  Ordinance  I  had  passed  here  by  the  Legislative 
Council  was  one  instituting  a  quarantine.  The  window  where 
I  sit  all  day  writing,  looks  out  into  the  street,  where  niggers 
jabber  away  like  so  many  garrulous  monkeys.  Women,  naked 
down  to  the  waist,  troop  along,  carrying  their  babies.  The  old 
women  are  very  nasty  to  look  at,  but  the  young  ones  are  really 
very  well  made  and  their  figures  generally  very  good.  I  enclose 
a  letter  for  my  mother — ^please  send  it  to  her. 


Abrakrampa, 
yth  November  1873  (6.30  a.m.). 

I  arrived  here  yesterday  with  a  small  force  to  Baker  Russell's 
assistance.  He  had  been  hammering  away  for  over  thirty-six 
hours,  and  was  nearly  surrounded  by  about  10,000  Ashantees, 
and  rather  tired,  but  as  fit  as  a  rat.  I  hope  the  enemy,  whose 
pluck  is  undeniable,  will  favour  us  with  another  attack  to-day. 
I  am  well ;  the  sputtering  fire  makes  me  feel  like  the  old  war- 
horse  who  pricks  up  his  ears  and  distends  his  nostrils  at  the  smell 
of  powder. 


Lord 
Wolseley. 


Cape  Coast,  lyth  November  1873. 

I  have  had  a  nasty  bout  of  fever,  and  am  still  a  little  weak  in 
the  loins.  The  new  Commodore  has  arrived — a.  nice,  dapper, 
though  stout  little  fellow.  I  think  we  shall  get  on  well  together. 
I  am  sorry  to  lose  Captain  Fremantle  ^  as  Senior  Naval  Ofiicer  ; 
though  non-scientific,  he  suited  me  down  to  the  ground,  for  he 
is  so  full  of  shrewd  common  sense.     However,  with  Hewett, 

*  Admiral,  1 896,  fourth  son  of  first  Lord  Cottesloe. 


Lord 
Wolseley. 


i6 


THE  LETTERS  OF 


who  is  scientific,  I  think  I  am  just  as  well  off,  and  he  too  will 
comply  with  my  wishes.  I  do  not  expect  English  troops  here 
until  the  ist  January,  and  we  can  do  nothing  until  then.  My 
other  A.D.C.  [Charteris]  has  been  at  death's  door  with  this  cursed 
fever.  If  he  only  could  be  transported  to  his  mother's  home  to 
receive  a  mother's  care,  he  would  be  right  again,  bad  as  he  is, 
in  a  week.  He  is  one  of  the  finest  young  fellows  I  have  ever 
known,  besides  being  a  first-class  A.D.C.  He  is  incapable  of 
an5H:hing  underhand  or  mean.  If  he  struck  you,  he  would 
strike  you  straight  in  the  face.  I  have  already  replaced 
M'Calmont  by  Captain  Lanyon,  2nd  W.I.  Regiment,  a  very 
nice  fellow.  He  has  never  joined  that  illustrious  Corps,  having 
always  been  on  staff  employ  since  he  was  gazetted  to  it. 


Lord 
Wolseley. 


Lord 
Wolseley. 


Cape  Coast,  Government  House, 
i6th  December  1873. 

I  long  for  the  next  two  months  to  be  over  ;  so  much  will  be 
done  in  that  time,  for  I  must,  by  the  i6th  of  February,  have 
either  failed  or  succeeded — please  God  it  will  be  the  latter,  and 
then  I  shall  begin  to  turn  my  face  towards  England.  I  seem 
always  to  be  condemned  to  command  in  Expeditions  which  have 
to  be  accomplished  before  a  certain  season  of  the  year  begins. 
In  the  Red  River  affair  I  had  to  get  to  Fort  Garry  sufiiciently 
early  to  admit  of  my  getting  back  the  Regular  troops  before  the 
frosts  set  in  ;  now  I  have  to  arrange  so  as  not  to  be  caught  by 
the  rains,  and  only  to  keep  British  regiments  on  shore  for  six 
weeks. 

^rd  January  1874. 

Yesterday  messengers  reached  me  from  the  King  at  Coo- 
massie  ;  the  principal  man  of  the  party  is  the  town-crier  ;  he 
had  a  plaque  of  beaten  and  embossed  gold  as  a  gorget,  and 
about  8  inches  long  by  6  wide.  I  have  had  to  compose  a  very 
careful  answer  conveying  to  the  great  Koffee  the  terms  upon 
which  I  am  prepared  to  admit  him  to  my  friendship.  I  do 
not  intend  allowing  him  to  go  back  to  Coomassie  until  the 
6th  instant,  by  which  time  my  bridge  over  the  river  will  be 
finished,  and  Russell's  regiment  will  have  invaded  Ashantee 
and  taken  up  a  position  in  King  Koffee's  kingdom  about 
8    miles    from  this.      As    Colonel    Wood   has    been   in    front 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  17 

lately,  I  now  send  Russell  forward  to  give  him  a  chance  of 
glory. 

FoMMANAH,  ABOUT  33  MiLES  FROM  CooMASSiE — 24ih  Janu- 
ary.— As  you  will  see  by  reading  my  journal,  I  had  another 
letter  from  the  King  yesterday,  and  he  sent  me  back  all  the 
remaining  white  prisoners,  Mrs.  Ramsayer,  the  wife  of  a  Swiss 
missionary,  with  her  two  children,  being  of  the  party.  The 
King  says  he  will  do  all  I  ask,  and  begs  me  to  stop  my  armies. 
The  indemnity,  he  says,  shall  also  be  paid,  so,  after  all,  we  may 
not  fire  another  shot,  but  I  have  to  go  on  just  as  if  I  was  certain 
of  a  fight,  for  these  black  rufiians  are  not  to  be  trusted.  Baker 
Russell  goes  on  to  another  town  a  few  miles  nearer  Coomassie 
to-morrow,  but  I  intend  halting  here  for  a  few  days  to  collect 
suppUes.  If  all  goes  well,  I  hope  to  have  made  my  treaty  and 
be  on  my  return  march  before  the  end  of  first  week  in  February, 
and  to  be  back  again  in  Government  House,  Cape  Coast,  about 
the  2oth  of  February,  and  to  embark  for  England  the  first  week 
in  March.  I  write  this  in  the  King  of  Adansi's  palace.  It  is 
really  a  nice  place,  and  the  town  generally  is  so  very  superior 
to  an5i:hing  in  the  Fantee  country  ;  all  the  towns  here  are 
deserted,  and  I  beUeve  there  is  a  general  scare  throughout  the 
Ashantee  kingdom. 

In  Sartu,  ^oth  January  1874. 

To-morrow  we  fight,  and  on  the  result  of  the  action  every-  Lord 
thing  here  depends  ;  my  trust  in  God  is  impHcit,  and  I  feel  we  ^^^^^^^y- 
shall  beat  these  bloodthirsty  and  cruel  people.  Yesterday  we 
had  a  skirmish  and  lost  a  poor  old  fellow  named  Nichol,  a  Captain 
in  Russell's  regiment.  The  old  Duke  said  that  next  to  losing  a 
fight,  the  greatest  calamity  was  gaining  one :  there  are  always 
vacant  places  in  one's  fines  (no  matter  how  small  the  numbers 
belonging  to  it),  that  make  one's  dinner  stick  in  the  throat. 
But  I  rejoice  at  the  prospect  of  to-morrow,  for  it  must  end  the 
business  one  way  or  another.  Fighting  against  great  odds  is 
all  very  well  on  the  plains  of  India  or  China,  where  you  can  see 
what  you  are  about,  but  in  this  forest,  where  one  can  never  see 
a  hundred  yards,  it  is  nervous  work,  especially  with  a  mere 
handful  of  troops  and  so  far  from  their  base. 

Sunday,  1st  February. — I  open  this  to  say  we  had  a  brilHant 
little  victory  yesterday,  but,  of  course,  not  without  loss.    Please 
God  I  shall  be  shortly  in  and  out  of  Coomassie. 
2 


i8  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Agemmamu,  yth  February  1874. 

Lord  I  am  now  on  my  way  back  to  Cape  Coast  Castle,  my  rear- 

Woiseiey.  guard  being  here  to-day.  I  am  as  fit  as  a  fiddle,  so  was  Russell 
when  I  last  saw  him  a  few  days  ago.  He  is  on  in  front,  being  a 
long  day's  march  nearer  England  than  I  am.  We  have  all  had 
very  hard  work,  and  some  trying  hours  of  it,  owing  to  the  heavy 
tornadoes  and  rain  that  accompanied  them.  I  slept  without 
my  boots  last  night,  for  the  first  time  for  several  days,  and  had 
a  good  roof  over  my  head,  having  passed  two  nights  under  my 
umbrella  amidst  torrents  of  rain.  But  these  are  trifles  ;  one  hated 
the  idea  of  our  fine  fellows  being  killed  in  a  wretched  little  war 
like  this.  We  took  Coomassie,  and  it  has  now  ceased  to  exist 
as  a  city.  Mr.  Wood,  loth  Hussars,  my  A.D.C.,  goes  home  from 
this  to-day  with  dispatches.  He  is  a  son  of  Lord  Halifax,  and 
is  a  charming  fellow  and  a  brave  soldier.  Remember  "  Lord 
Trent  "  in  case  you  are  asked  any  questions — ^not  that  I,  for  an 
instant,  think  there  is  a  likehhood  of  such  a  thing  at  present. 
I  may  be  summoned  to  see  the  Queen  when  I  return,  so  have  my 
star  and  orders  handy. 

Cape  Coast,  25/2/74. 
Lord  We  have  had  a  sale  of  the  loot  taken,  and  I  have  been 

Woise  ey.  squandering  money.  I  have  bought  King  Koffee's  coffee-pot — 
old  English  silver,  I  should  say  of  George  11.,  but  in  a  battered 
condition.  I  thought,  anyhow,  it  would  be  a  subject  for  con- 
versation at  breakfast  whenever  we  might  have  very  stupid 
people  staying  with  us.  I  have  also  the  gold  rattle  taken  from 
the  King's  nursery.  I  had  set  my  heart  upon  a  bronze  group  of 
about  fifty  little  figures  representing  the  King  of  Ashantee  being 
carried  in  state,  and  had  asked  one  of  my  staff  to  bid  £16  for 
it.     It  went  for  £100  ! 

My  staff  have  purchased  the  King's  sword  for  me,  and  pre- 
sented it  to  me — very  nice  of  them,  is  it  not  ?  It  is  a  handsome 
General  Officer's  sword,  and  was  presented  by  Her  Majesty  to 
the  King  many  years  ago.  I  presume  that  I  shaU  not  revert 
to  the  rank  of  Colonel,  so  it  wiU  do  me  very  well  as  my  General's 
sword.  The  best  things  I  have  got  for  presents  are  carved  stools, 
peculiar  to  the  country  and  unlike  anything  in  any  other  place. 
I  sent  home  with  Wood,  in  the  name  of  the  force  here,  the  King's 
state  umbrella  to  the  Queen,  and  a  very  handsome  stool  to  the 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  19 

Princess  of  Wales.  I  have  succeeded  in  buying  one  of  the  King's 
state  hats,  which  he  wore  at  the  battle  of  Ordasu.  As  soon  as 
the  Sarmatian  arrives  I  am  going  with  the  Commodore  for  a  few 
days*  cruise,  to  visit  Accra  and  some  other  outstanding  posts  in 
*'  my  dominions.*' 


Osborne,  19/^  February  1875. 

Whom  should  I  find  waiting  on  the  steamer  but  Old  Wax-      Lord 
works,^  who  was  also  on  his  way  to  His  Swvrin.  Woiseiey. 

It  is  now  nearly  6  p.m.,  and  the  mail  goes  then,  so  I  thought 
I  would  send  you  a  line — my  fingers  were  frozen  coming  here  : 
we  don't  dine  until  8.30 — really  I  hear  near  9.  I  had  a  message 
to-day  from  the  Prince  saying  that  he  wanted  to  see  me  to- 
morrow at  one  o'clock.  I  humbly  told  him  impossible,  as  I  was 
off  to  Osborne ;  so  I  have  to  see  him  at  3  p.m.  and  Carnarvon 
at  4.30  on  Sunday — the  Devil !  The  Queen  is  to  give  me 
her  views  on  Native  affairs  and  the  treatment  of  Kaffirs  in 
particular.  I  am  glad  of  this,  for  I  then  can  speak  in  her  name 
in  an  authoritative  manner. 

A  splendid  man,  six  feet  high,  in  red  coat  and  powdered 
hair,  has  just  come  in  for  letters — so  good-night  :  pleasant 
dreams. 

^  Apparently  nickname  for  Sir  Hastings  Doyle. 


i875 

[In  February  1875,  Sir  Garnet  was  ordered  to  Natal, 
where  the  suppression  of  the  rebel  Chief,  Llangelilabele — a 
name  which  Wolseley  always  decHned  to  spell  or  pronounce 
— ^had  led  to  the  recall  of  the  Governor,  Sir  Benjamin  Pine, 
and  where  a  Kaffir  rising  threatened.  The  mission,  being  highly 
flavoured  with  poHtics,  was  not  wholly  to  his  taste.  Its  special 
object  was  to  induce  the  existing  tenants  of  authority  in  the 
Legislative  Council  to  surrender  some  of  their  power,  and  to 
bring  about  a  proportionate  increase  in  the  influence  of  the 
Executive.  Wolseley's  part  was  performed  with  entire  success, 
even  if  its  resultant  effects  were  not  of  permanent  value.] 


CHAPTER  III 

On  Board  the  "Walmer  Castle,"  Dartmouth, 
Tuesday  Morning,  2yd  February  1875. 

Lord  Need  I  tell  you  how  I  thought  of  you,  as  we  whirled  along  in 

Wolseley.  ^j^^  train,  driving  through  the  park  over  Hammersmith  Bridge  : 
the  pause  at  the  pike  to  pay  the  toU,  the  arrival  at  the  Limes,  and 
Fop  barking  at  the  door.  I  hear  that  we  shall  be  twenty-six 
days  in  getting  to  Cape  Town,  so  I  do  not  expect  to  reach  my 
"  seat  of  Government  "  before  the  26th  March.  The  Captain 
tells  us  it  is  blowing  a  gale  of  wind  outside,  news  that  has  already 
given  a  greenish  hue  to  "  Brack's  "  complexion.  I  beUeve  I 
have  a  servant  somewhere  on  board,  but  I  have  not  yet  seen  him. 

Garnet. 

On  Board  the  "  Walmer  Castle,'*  at  Sea, 
Saturday,  2yth  February  1875. 

Lord  I  have  had  my  nose  buried  in  Blue  books  ever  since  I  came 

Wolseley.  ^^  board,  trying  to  learn  my  lesson.  I  am  telegraphing  to 
Carnarvon,  pointing  out  what  I  object  to  in  H.R.H.'s  instruc- 
tions.    I  had  no  time  to  study  them  before  I  started.     Poor 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY    21 

Brackenbury  1  is  verdigris  in  colour  and  rolled  up  in  rugs  on 
deck.  I  intend  writing  to  Evelyn  Wood's  2  wife  if  I  can  to- 
night ;  I  think  she  would  like  to  know  how  much  I  regret 
not  having  him  with  me. 

I  say  my  hymn  at  night  the  last  thing.  I  hope  you  will  never 
omit  it  :  it  will  be  a  sort  of  bond  between  us  whilst  we  are  apart. 

Government  House,  Rondebosch, 
Cape  Town,  23^^  March  1875. 

I  am  staying  with  the  Governor,  Sir  Henry  Barkly,  at  his  Lord 
country  residence,  about  five  miles  from  Cape  Town.  Sir  ^^^*^* 
Henry  is  in  appearance  a  cross  between  Mr.  Buckland  of 
Montreal — ^if  you  remember  him — and  Sir  Stafford  Northcote, 
having  an  undecided  expression  about  the  mouth,  with  his  hair 
brushed  forward  on  each  side  of  his  face  into  two  things  like 
cow's  horns.  He  and  his  wife  and  daughter  have  been  most 
kind  to  me.  Living  next  door  are  Sir  Arthur  and  Lady  Cun5nig- 
hame  :  he  is  the  Lieut. -General  commanding  the  troops  in 
Southern  Africa.  He  must  be  much  put  out  by  my  appoint- 
ment ;  indeed,  he  told  me  so,  and  added  that  he  had  expected 
to  have  been  sent  to  Natal.  He  is  a  nice  Httle  man,  and  I  feel 
sorry  to  have  been  instrumental  in  wounding  his  feeUngs.  His 
wife  is  a  sister  of  Lord  Hardinge's  and  his  living  image — if  you 
can  imagine  him  a  Uttle  stouter,  a  Httle  shorter,  and  in  petti- 
coats. She  is  very  agreeable  and,  I  should  say,  very,  very  clever ; 
a  great  collector  of  china  and  old  furniture  here  ;  the  old  settlers 
have  a  good  deal  of  old  Dutch  ware  and  very  old  Japanese 
china.  The  people  are  below  the  Canada  level.  The  women 
dress  badly ;  the  best  looking  I  have  seen  is  a  Dutch  woman, 
married  to  a  son  of  the  Bishop  of  Grahamstown. 

I  went  to  a  croquet  party  to  meet  some  of  the  Ministers. 
The  people  looked  Uke  a  collection  of  housemaids,  with  their 
greengrocer  admirers  in  attendance  upon  them.  Only  fancy 
having  to  make  love  to  such  a  set  for  months  to  come.  I  am 
bu3dng  up  a  lot  of  champagne  to  take  on  to  Natal  to  give  a  ball, 
for  until  I  have  managed  to  pass  the  measures  through  the 
Legislative  Council,  I  must  spend  my  money  freely  in  entertaining 
the  people  of  Maritzburg.  I  am  told  that  all  the  champagne 
you  buy  here  is  made  from  coal  oil,  so  I  shall  avoid  drinking  it 

1  Afterwards  General  Right  Hon.  Sir  Henry  Brackenbury  {183 7-1 91 4). 

2  Captain  Evelyn  Wood,  V.C.,  afterwards  Field-Marshal  {1838-1919). 


22 


THE  LETTERS  OF 


Lord 
Wolseley. 


myself,  but  it  will,  I  hear,  be  eagerly  gulped  down  by  thirsty 
throats  ! 

The  fleet  here  is  under  Admiral  Randolph,  and  I  go  to  Natal 
on  the  fastest  and  finest  of  his  ships,  the  Raleigh,  commanded 
by  Captain  Tryon,i  who  was  associated  with  me  in  inspecting 
ships  for  the  Abyssinian  War.  I  hope  to  make  my  state  entry 
into  Durban  on  Easter  Monday.  Captain  Grenfell  2  (6oth  Rifles), 
who  used  to  act  at  the  Garrison  theatricals  in  Montreal,  is  A.D.C. 
to  Sir  A.  Cunynhame,  and  very  much  liked.  The  other  A.D.C, 
Selby  Smith,  is  engaged  to  one  of  the  General's  daughters,  who 
is  clever,  like  her  mother. 

PlETERMARITZBURG,   2nd  April  1875. 

We  started  from  Durban  at  6.30  a.m.,  in  an  open  brake  with 
four  horses.  An  escort  of  Volunteer  Cavalry  attended  me  for  a 
couple  of  miles  out  of  the  town,  at  a  gallop,  to  keep  up  with  the 
carriage.  We  bumped  along  at  top  speed  down  hills  over  an 
accursed  road,  full  of  holes  and  ruts,  till  every  bone  in  one's  body 
ached.  How  the  springs  stood  it,  is  a  marvel.  I  saw  very  little 
land  under  cultivation,  the  few  inhabitants  having  mostly  given 
up  farming  and  taken  to  driving  teams  of  oxen  to  convey  goods 
from  the  seaport  inland — a  very  paying  employment.  I  was 
met  some  miles  short  of  this  place  by  another  cavalry  escort, 
who  brought  me  at  a  swinging  pace  through  the  town  to  this 
very  pretty  place.  The  house  is  really  comfortable,  only  re- 
quiring a  few  pictures,  odds  and  ends  and  ornaments,  to  make  it 
attractive  ;  it  has  a  good  hall  and  fair  reception-rooms.  I  shall 
soon  give  a  ball,  and  intend  feeding  these  people  to  gorging 
point.  From  the  little  I  have  seen,  I  think  the  men  are  about 
as  ill-conditioned  a  lot  as  I  have  ever  met  with — pettifogging 
politicians,  self-seeking  and  regardless  of  the  true  interests  of 
the  Colony  and  the  Empire.  I  was  sworn  in  yesterday  evening, 
and  had  a  levee  afterwards. 


Lord 

Wolseley. 


Government  House,  Maritzburg, 

Uh  April  1875. 

I  have   a   dinner-party  every  evening — ^none  but  men  as 
yet,  and  often  in  coloured  neckties  and  frock-coats.     Most  of 

1  Afterwards  Vice- Admiral  Sir  George  Tryon ;   drowned  on   H.M.S. 
Victoria,  1893. 

3  Afterwards  F.-M.  Lord  Grenfell  (1841,  still  living). 


Wolseley. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  23 

the  women  here  are  plain,  with  yellow-green  complexions  : 
they  look  like  cockatoos  with  dirty  plumage.  Miss  Colenso, 
the  bishop's  daughter,  is  good-looking,  but,  like  her  father,  she 
has  Kaffir  on  the  brain  and  can't  talk  reasonably  on  the  subject. 
Yesterday  we  had  soldiers'  athletic  sports — I  gave  money  for 
the  prizes,  and  distributed  them  ;  in  the  Kaffir  race  one  com- 
petitor dropped  his  garment  and  was  too  excited  to  stop  to  pick 
it  up  ;  he  rushed  past  all  the  young  ladies  at  the  winning-post 
as  naked  as  he  came  into  the  world. 

Another  Levee  just  over,  and  my  hand  is  still  clammy  from 
the  pump-handle  work.  I  intend  going  back  to  the  seacoast 
next  week,  to  tout  about  for  support,  and  endeavour  to  please 
the  electors  by  feeding  them  and  giving  their  wives  and  daughters 
abaU. 

Durban,  16th  April  1875. 

My  troubles  are  now  hot  upon  me.  The  Legislative  Council  „,^,o^f 
meets  on  the  5th  May,  when  my  new  measures  will  be  discussed, 
and  to-night  I  have  to  make  a  speech  giving  a  rough  outhne 
of  the  policy  I  must  pursue.  How  it  will  be  received  it  is 
difficult  to  say,  and  I  am  a  little  nervous  as  to  my  ability  to  do 
justice  to  my  subject,  whilst  I  keep  my  tongue  under  complete 
control.  I  have  to  prove  my  case,  and  content  my  hearers  at 
once.  I  am  still,  I  think,  popular,  but  how  long  that  may  last 
is  difficult  to  say — I  am  spending  money  as  if  I  were  a  million- 
aire. My  ball  at  Government  House,  Maritzburg,  went  off  re- 
markably well  ;  and  on  Tuesday  I  give  a  ball  here  to  600  people. 
To-night  the  Corporation  of  Durban  give  me  a  banquet,  where 
I  am  to  meet  some  260  local  magnates.  These  will  have  been 
the  largest  entertainments  ever  given  in  Natal.  I  am  to  have 
another  ball  at  Maritzburg,  the  day  before  Parliament  meets,  and 
another  on  the  Queen's  birthday,  with  an  official  banquet. 
There  is  the  greatest  excitement  over  the  prospects  of  our  coming 
ball ;  every  yard  of  silk  and  every  pair  of  white  shoes  have  been 
bought  up. 

Before  I  go  back  to  Maritzburg  I  have  to  make  excursions  to 
various  places  along  the  coast  to  inspect  sugar  mills  and  coffee 
plantations  and  receive  addresses,  etc. 

The  mail  brought  me  two  letters  from  the  Duke  of  Man- 
chester, addressed  to  me  at  the  War  Office  the  day  I  left 
England,  asking  me  to  take  his  son.  Lord  Mandeville,  out  with 


24  THE  LETTERS  OF 

me  as  an  extra  A.D.C.  I  congratulated  myself  that  I  could 
write  the  Duke  saying  how  much  I  regretted  I  had  not  received 
his  note  before  I  left  home,  and  thought  no  more  of  the  affair 
until  yesterday,  when  I  was  reminded  of  it  by  the  arrival  of 
Lord  Mandeville,  armed  with  a  private  letter  from  the  Prince 
of  Wales  recommending  him  to  my  notice  for  any  employment 
I  could  give  him  upon  my  staff.  Of  course  such  a  request  is  an 
order,  so  that  young  gentleman  is  now  installed  as  an  extra 
A.D.C,  and  at  this  moment  busy  in  correcting  invitation 
cards.    He  seems  most  anxious  to  help  and  quite  intelligent. 


Government  House,  Maritzburg, 
2^th  April  1875. 

Lord  I  told  Carnarvon  ^  by  last  mail  that  I  hoped  my  dispatch  to 


Wolseley. 


him,  conveying  the  result  of  my  mission,  would  reach  him  before 
the  end  of  June,  so  that  my  successor  might  start  for  Natal  on 
the  5th  July.  There  is  a  row  going  on  at  the  Diamond  Fields, 
and  troops  have  been  sent  there  from  Cape  Town.  I  have  had  a 
petition  from  the  discontented  people,  now  termed  **  rebels," 
asking  me  to  go  there  and  inquire  into  their  grievance,  which 
would,  of  course,  be  outside  my  province.  I  am  off  again  on  a 
weary  round  of  seeing  strange  places  and  still  stranger  people 
next  Tuesday.  I  am  going  up-country  amongst  those  who  will 
be  little  inclined  to  vote  for  the  measures  I  want  to  pass  in  a 
constitutional  manner.  My  trip  to  the  Coast  was  most  suc- 
cessful, and  I  feel  my  prospects  are  better  since  I  went  there. 
I  am  very  anxious  to  succeed,  but  my  feelings  are  very  different 
when  the  honour  of  the  nation  and  the  success  of  the  army  hang 
in  the  balance.  Here,  it  is  a  matter  of  sharp  wit  :  my  poor 
brain,  pitted  against  the  cunning  of  Colonial  politicians.  At  one 
moment  I  bluster  ;  if  they  won't  give  way  they  will  be  forced 
to  do  so  by  an  Act  of  the  Imperial  Parliament,  and  so  on.  Then 
at  another  I  am  using  aU  my  powers  of  persuasion  to  prove 
that  their  surrender  of  political  power  I  require  is  merely 
"  reculer  pour  mieux  sauter."  I  am  ably  assisted  by  those 
about  me ;  all  are  as  deeply  interested  in  the  result  as  I  am. 
Poor,  dear  Sir  Hope  Grant.  I  pray  that  when  I  pass  away  I 
may  be  as  fit  as  he  was  to  stand  before  the  Great  Judge. 

^  Fourth  Eaxl  of  Carnarvon  (1831-90);    Colonial  Secretary,  1866-67, 
1874-78. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  25 

Government  House,  Maritzburg, 
^ih  May  1875. 

I  have  just  come  back  from  making  my  *'  Speech  from  the      Lord 
Throne  "  to  open  the  Legislative  Council.     The  House  was  ^^^^'''y- 
crowded.     I  read  through  my  speech,  hissing  out  every  syllable 
where  I  had  anything  very  important  to  say,  and  then  handed  it 
to  the  Speaker.     I  drove  away  in  the  same  "  state  "  as  I  arrived, 
a  salute  being  fired  to  announce  that  I  had  opened  the  Council. 

Yesterday  afternoon  a  number  of  ladies  came  here  to  see  us 
play  lawn-tennis  ;  they  also  made  futile  efforts  to  play  them- 
selves. They  had  tea,  but  are  so  shy  of  one  another  that  unless 
men  go  and  talk  with  them,  they  sit  round  the  lawn  on  benches, 
glaring  at  one  another,  glued  to  their  seats,  and  never  attempt- 
ing to  carry  on  any  conversation.  This  is  an  extremely  moral 
community,  perhaps  because  every  one  watches  the  other  as  a  cat 
would  a  mouse,  so  that  the  least  tendency  to  an  "affair  "  is  at 
once  blazoned  about. 


Wolseley. 


Durban,  Natal,  2yth  July  1875. 

This  Governorship  is  no  bed  of  roses,  and  I  do  not  envy  my  „^^/>»'f 
successor,  although  I  have  cleared  the  atmosphere  and  obtained 
for  him  powers  such  as  no  Gk)vemor  ever  had  here  before.  Broome 
has  been  unfortunate  here,  and  now,  since  hisHetters  have  appeared 
in  the  English  Times,  chaffing  the  people  of  Natal  and  turning 
their  peculiarities  into  ridicule,  there  is  a  storm  of  resentment, 
and  men  talk  of  refusing  to  sit  with  him  in  the  Legislative  Council. 
When  we  first  arrived,  I  advised  him  to  keep  his  connection 
with  the  London  Press  to  himself,  but  he  was  so  proud  of 
having  been  on  the  Staff  of  the  Times  that  he  could  not  do 
so,  but  boasted  everywhere  of  it,  and  the  consequence  is,  that 
although  "  our  correspondent  "  does  not  sign  his  name,  every  one 
knows  that  he  is  the  author.  This  is  unpleasant  for  me,  for  all 
this  dislike  to  the  man  who  is  my  principal  Colonial  Officer 
here,  reacts  more  or  less  upon  me.  The  Bill  for  the  loan  of 
£1,200,000  to  construct  Railway  Roads  here  has  just  come  out 
from  England  and  will  be  unpopular  on  account  of  the  high 
price  of  the  contract. 

Tuesday,  loih  August. — Mr.  Froude^  has  arrived  at  Durban, 

*  James  Anthony  Froude,  eminent  historian,  to  whom  Lord  Carnarvon 
entrusted  a  mission  with  reference  to  the  proposed  federation  of  South 
Africa. 


26  THE  LETTERS  OF 

and  comes  to  stay  with  me  to-morrow  ;  we  shall  have  long 
conversations  on  his  confederation  business.  He,  of  course, 
wants  me  to  stay  here  to  preside  at  this  Conference,  and 
although  I  have  not  yet  had  a  talk  with  him  on  the  subject, 
I  feel  convinced  that  he  has  urged  this  upon  Carnarvon.  I 
would  rather  go  home,  partly  because  I  think  that  with 
all  these  rumours  of  war  floating  about,  I  ought  not  to 
be  so  far  away,  and  partly  because  I  believe  that  the  Con- 
federation will  require  the  exercise  of  greater  power  in  their 
Provinces  than  the  home  Ministry  is  likely  to  sanction  the 
expenditure  of. 

2yth  August. — My  last  day  in  Maritzburg.  To-morrow  I 
drive  to  Durban,  and  on  3rd  September  embark  for  England, 
home,  and  beauty — ^that  is  for  you. 


MoRTLAKE,  The  Limes,  4th  March. 

Lady  I  am  longing  much  for  your  Madeira  letter,  and  I  trust 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  ^^^  keeping  a  long,  wordy  journal  for  me,  with  a  good 
many  anecdotes.  How  is  Brack  ?  Was  he  very  ill  ?  and 
did  he  make  horrid  noises  ?  He  and  Major  Butler  wrote  me 
pretty  little  notes  from  Dartmouth.  I  had  wonderful  proffers 
of  friendship  or  of  opinion  on  any  matter  in  a  letter  from 
Sir  Richard  (Airey).^  I  wrote  him  a  grateful  answer,  and 
asked  his  opinion  at  once  on  a  matter  of  military  discipline  : 
as  to  whether  a  man  could  not  be  punished  for  deserting  his 
wife  once  a  year  for  six  months  ?  Do  you  recognise  yourself 
as  the  offender  ? 


MoRTLAKE,  14th  and  i^th  March  1875. 

Lady  We  have  been  to  see  Miss  Robertson  2  in  The  Lady  of  Lyons, 

Woiseiey,  ^^^qj.    Colonel   Baker's  ^  guidance,   and   are   going   again   on 
Wednesday  to  see  Sweethearts. 

Poor  Sir  Hope  Grant's  death  will  have  grieved  you.  I 
heard  the  details  from  Captain  Barton.  He  had  no  pain 
latterly,  and  just  slept  away,  at  sunset,  into  death.  He  was 
to  have  a  military  funeral  at  Edinburgh  last  Friday  (12th), 

1  Created  Lord  Airey. 

2  Afterwards  Mrs.  Kendal,  the  eminent  actress. 
'  Colonel  Valentine  Baker,  loth  Hussars. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  27 

and  Lady  Grant  was  going  up  to  Edinburgh.  It  was  very 
kind  of  Captain  Barton  to  write  me  so  often,  but  he  wished  you 
to  know  all  particulars. 

A  strange  piece  of   gossip  as  to  an  affray  between  two 

women.     The  story  is  that  the  staid  and  mature  Lady 

caught   the    youthful    and    dashing    Lady  cheating   at 

cards.  She  took  her  aside  and  gave  her  the  choice  between 
a    good    whipping    there    and    then    and    public    exposure. 

Lady   chose    the   whipping,    and    Lady  at    once 

administered  it,  but  the  story — ^as  stories  do — got  wind 
somehow  all  the  same. 

I  am  almost  sorry  now  I  did  not  leave  "  The  Limes  *'  before 
the  boat-race  day,  for  I  see  trouble  ahead.  Several  people 
have  already  written  to  ask  if  they  might  come,  but  I  have 
carefully  adhered  to  our  determination — ^yours  and  mine — to 
have  no  one  but  BuUer,^  Baker  and  Greaves, 2  and  Fanny  and 
the  children. 

I  have  had  several  applications  also  to  let  it  to  people.  A 
hotel-keeper  offered  £50.  Our  neighbours  know  the  real  owner, 
who  would  give  me  £200  for  it  for  the  day.  I  went  yesterday 
to  them  to  tea,  and  they  were  very  cold  in  manner  ;  annoyed 
that  I  would  not  let  the  place  to  their  friend.  Their  grievance 
is  that  I  won't  invite  them  myself,  and  won't  let  it  to  their 
friend  who  would.  In  letting  it  I  should  have  to  put  up 
all  the  seats  and  bunting,  and  have  a  man  at  the  gate 
touting  for  customers — fancy,  how  detestable  ! — and  finally, 
I  should  be  mulcted  for  damages.  I  paid  my  visit  to  the  Russells 
last  Friday.  The  Earl  is  fearfully  deaf ;  you  have  to  roar  at  him. 
He  seemed  much  interested  about  you,  and  Lady  Russell  is  a 
very  nice-mannered  woman  indeed. 

We  talk  of  making  a  little  trip  over  to  Holland  when 
I  leave  The  Limes.  You  told  me  I  might  go  abroad  if 
I  liked,  or  I  should  not  venture  on  it.  I  wonder  if  you 
would  approve  ?  I  so  revel  in  being  abroad  that  it  is  a 
temptation. 

P.S. — Moody  and  Sankey  still  prevail.  Some  one  went  to 
see  Moody  and  asked — ^in  a  scoffing  spirit — ^if  it  was  true  he  could 
exorcise  evil  spirits.  Moody  said  no,  but  that  he  could  cast 
out  devils,  and  forthwith  kicked  the  man  downstairs. 

1  Afterwards  General  the  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Redvers  BuUer,  V.C. 

2  Afterwards  General  Sir  George  Greaves. 


28  THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

MoRTLAKE,  Sunday,  21st  March  1875. 

Lady  Yesterday  was  the  boat  race.     I  missed  you  so  much.     I 

Woiseiey.  j-gally  felt  as  if  every  Jill  had  her  Jack,  and  I  belonged  to  nobody, 
and  I  was  tired  out  before  they  left,  and  could  have  sat  down 
and  cried.  M.  was  more  than  usually  stupid  ;  she  would  not 
speak  to  anybody,  and  looked  as  if  she  disapproved  of  the  whole 
proceeding.  She  never  uttered  at  luncheon,  and  was  so  scented 
with  patchouli  as  to  poison  the  house.  I  thought  her  a  very 
disagreeable  woman.  She  thinks  boat  races  wrong,  and  I  only 
wish  she  had  stuck  to  her  convictions  and  stayed  at  home. 
After  the  race  I  went  up  to  town  to  tea  with  old  Miss  Wright, 
to  meet  Lady  B.  She  is  very  agreeable  and  clever,  and  talks 
no  end  about  herself  and  all  her  children,  including  the  very 
evident  one  still  unborn,  whom  she  intends  to  feed  on  tinned 
milk.  I  thought  her  perhaps  a  trifle  partial  to  Lords  and 
Ladies,  and  she  told  me  the  Princess  had  pointed  me  out  to 
her  at  that  Chiswick  Garden  Party.  Please  when  you  write 
give  me  nice  little  stories.  I  like  to  have  diplomatic  news  too, 
as  Lady  B.  rather  came  the  Colonial  Secretary's  wife  over  me. 

Lady  Wilmot  told  me  that  the  Prince  of  Wales,  with  his 
usual  kind  heart,  went  to  see  Sir  Hope  Grant  on  his  death-bed 
and  bid  him  good-bye.  Sir  Hope  rallied  sufficiently  to  give 
the  Prince  some  very  good  and  very  solemn  advice. 

The  Limes,  21st  April. 

Lady  I  only  got  your  letters  last  night,  just  as  I  was  starting  for 

0  se  ey.  ^^^^  Opera  with  the  Skirrows — ^who  have  a  box  at  Drury  Lane 
this  year.  I  read  one  letter  hastily  through  before  starting, 
and  took  the  other  to  read  between  the  acts  of  Rigoletto,  Mrs. 
Skirrow  fed  on  the  crumbs  I  let  drop,  nothing  injudicious,  you 
may  be  sure.  She  is  going  to  have  your  feather  flowers  put  under 
a  glass  case.  I  am  much  interested  in  your  South  African 
folk.  I  hope  you  do  not  forget  that  we  met  Mrs.  Tryon  at 
the  Goschens  ;  she  was  Miss  Heathcote,  daughter  of  Lord 
Aveland.  This  in  case  you  should  not  have  a  peerage  at  hand, 
but  I  dare  say  Mr.  Broome  could  supply  the  information. 

The  North  dinner-party  was  postponed  owing  to  the  death 
of  their  old  friend.  Lord  Alfred  Hervey. 


1878 

[In  1876  Sir  Garnet  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  India 
Council;  and  in  July  1878 — as  a  result  of  the  BerUn  Con- 
gress, was  sent  as  High  Commissioner  to  administer  the  newly 
acquired — and  dubiously  valuable — ^island  of  Cyprus.] 


CHAPTER  IV 

India  Office,  1st  May  1878. 

I  feel  as  if  I  were  abroad  on  some  campaign  receiving  letters  Lord 
from  you.  I  am  "  well  crowded "  up  with  engagements  ^o^^^<^- 
for  this  month.  I  dine  to-night  with  Mr.  Vincent, ^  the  new 
chief  of  the  detectives,  and  to-morrow  with  Mr.  Pender  2  in 
Arlington  Street.  I  went  last  night  with  the  Miss  Hennikers 
to  the  Court,  where  they  are  playing  Olivia,  the  Vicar  of 
Wakefield  reduced  into  a  few  scenes  ;  very  beautifully  put 
on  the  stage  and  most  affecting.  I  felt  my  throat  very  full  at 
times,  but  I  thought  it  a  Uttle  impious  now  and  then,  when 
the  old  vicar  deUvered  a  regular  sermon  about  the  goodness 
of  God. 

By  the  bye,  pray  read  the  first  article  in  April's  Contem- 
porary. It  throws  scorn  on  the  lectures  and  magazine 
articles  which  pronounce  the  superiority  of  philosophy  over 
rehgion.  It  has  been  a  very  successful  output,  although 
carelessly  written. 

At  a  French  exhibition  in  Bedford  Street  there  is  a  wonderful 
little  picture  by  Gerome,  of  a  young  girl  seated  on  the  edge  of 
a  bath  with  her  back  to  you.  Of  course  nothing  on  her  :  the 
skin  painted  in  a  most  wonderful  manner. 

I  suppose  you  know  that  Mrs.  Thistlethwaite  wrote  the  other 
day  to  the  Morning  Post  regarding  what  her  husband  said  of  her 
seeing  Uttle  of  good  society.  The  letter  was  a  literary  curiosity. 
There  is  an  article  about  it  in  last  week's  Vanity  Fair — especially 
chafl&ng  her  about  an  expression,  "  my  lady  friends,"  which 

*  Afterwards  Sir  Howard  Vincent.  -  Afterwards  Sir  James  Pender. 

29 


30  THE  LETTERS  OF 

apparently  is  peculiar  to  the  professional  ladies  of  easy  virtue.  I 
hear  a  most  disgraceful  matrimonial  case  is  shortly  to  be  made 
pubUc. 

London,  ^th  May  1878. 

Lord  The  speeches  last  night  at  the  Academy  dinner  were  the 

Woiseley.  y^^orst  I  ever  heard  :  Dizzy  was  prosy  and  dull — I  went  a  good 
hour  before  dinner,  and  saw  the  pictures  first  by  daylight,  and 
after  dinner  by  gaslight.  A  great  deal  of  rubbish,  but  a  few 
lovely  things — a  flock  of  geese  going  through  a  narrow  passage, 
and  all  very  frightened  at  an  old  battered  hat  Ijdng  in  the 
middle  of  the  path,  and  another  picture  by  the  same  man, 
Rividre,  called  "Sympathy,"  which  to  my  mind  is  the  best 
in  the  show.  A  child  is  sitting  on  a  flight  of  stairs,  with  a 
white,  smooth-haired  terrier  leaning  his  head  on  the  child's 
shoulder  and  looking  most  sympathetically  into  the  little  face. 
It  is  the  dog  which  is  best  done — nothing  that  Landseer  ever 
painted  can  equal  it ;  the  child's  features  and  expression  are 
a  little  too  old  for  her  size.  Mrs.  Langtry  appears  by  three 
artists — Millais'^  I  like  the  best,  although  Poynter's^  is  the 
most  highly  finished  and  most  appreciated,  I  think. 

Lord  Beaconsfield  asks  me  to  dine  on  the  Queen's  birthday. 

In  the  Palace,  Malta,  j.%th  July. 

Lord  Steaming  hot  :    I  dined  here  with  my  staff  last  night,  and 

Woiseley.  ^2jme  here  again  this  morning,  dear  Fricke  having  called  me  at 
3.30  a.m.  I  am  just  about  to  see  all  the  Heads  of  the  various 
departments  about  provisions  for  Cyprus. 

I  don't  think  there  is  anything  in  Windsor  Castle  at  all 
equal  to  the  corridores  (how  do  you  spell  the  infernal  word  ?), 
here  or  to  the  Armoury.  Heaps  of  old  pictures — ^some  very 
good,  others  daubs,  all  with  historical  interest ;  the  Majolica 
I  should  imagine  the  finest  in  the  world.  Besides  this  palace 
the  Governor,  who  is  now  Sir  Arthur  Borton,  has  two  palaces 
in  the  country  for  summer  occupation. 

Brackenbury  begs  to  be  remembered  most  affectionately 
to  you,  and  says  you  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  he  is  well 
and  happy.     He  disappeared  when  passing  through  Paris  "to 

1  Afterwards  Sir  John  Everett  Millais  (1829-96),  P.R.A. 

2  Afterwards  Sir  Edward  John  Poynter  (i 836-1919),  P.R.A. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  31 

dine  with  some  friends."  Baker  Russell  is  as  cheery  as  a 
sandboy.  I  am  writing  this  with  numerous  interruptions, 
worrying  over  store  questions  with  Commissioners,  pill  boxes, 
and  others.  I  embark  on  the  Himalaya  this  evening ;  I  shall 
be  glad  to  be  out  of  this  worry  and  heat,  although  it  will  only 
be  from  the  frying-pan  of  Malta  into  the  fire  of  Cyprus. 


Larnaka,  Cyprus,  2^rd  July. 

We  arrived  here  yesterday  morning.     I  went  ashore  in  the      Lord 
evening,  and  swore  myself  in  as  Lord  High  Commissioner  and   ^^^^^^y- 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the   Island,  the  Duke   of  Edinburgh 
being  amongst  the  spectators  :  it  was  rather  curious  my  sitting 
in  state  whilst  he  stood  amongst  the  ofi&cers  present. 

Whilst  I  think  of  it,  remember  to  take  in  the  Daily  News, 
for  Mr.  Forbes  of  that  paper  is  here  and  will  send  home  letters 
describing  our  doings.  Larnaka  is  not  such  a  bad  place  as  it  is 
generally  represented  to  be.  I  have  ordered  a  house  to  be  hired 
at  Nicosia  (accent  on  the  i),  which  will  put  you  up  very  well ; 
I  hope  soon  to  see  it  and  will  report  to  you  what  it  looks  like. 


Nicosia,  Cyprus,  ^th  August  1878. 

Minutes  to  be  written  upon  every  subject  under  heaven —  Lord 
petitions  from  peasants,  declaring  they  have  been  beaten  and  °^^^y- 
ill-treated  by  the  police,  or  some  one  else,  and  a  thousand  other 
things,  one  after  another,  until  my  poor  brain  goes  round  like 
a  humming-top.  This  is  a  filthy  hole,  and  I  am  going  to  clear 
out  and  encamp  round  a  small  monastery.  I  am  having  the 
island  explored  to  discover  a  good  site  for  a  large  cantonment, 
where  I  shall  establish  the  three  European  regiments,  and  to 
which  I  shall  remove  the  seat  of  Government.  I  have  asked 
for  eight  large  tents  for  myself,  as  a  sort  of  residence  ;  until 
they  are  up  you  cannot  possibly  come  here.  Taylor  packed 
our  things  most  disgracefully,  and  the  result  is  that  candles, 
jams,  blacking,  and  mustard,  etc.,  have  come  out  of  some  of 
our  cases  in  one  heavy  mass.  All  but  one  of  my  cases  have 
turned  up  ;  the  missing  one  contains  my  saddles,  very  valuable 
articles  in  a  country  like  this.  The  horse-flies  drive  my  old 
horse  nearly  wild,  and  the  extreme  dryness  of  the  climate,  added 
to  the  heat,  have  made  his  hoofs  so  brittle  that  I  cannot  really 


32  THE  LETTERS  OF 

use  him — ^large  pieces  of  his  hoof  break  off  like  shortbread  ; 
however,  when  I  get  him  into  camp,  I  shall  make  him  stand  in 
moist  ground  to  keep  his  feet  soft  and  cool. 

I  wish  all  my  staff  had  half  Brackenbury's  brains  :  and  when 
I  think  of  the  beautiful  regularity  with  which  my  books  were 
kept  by  him,  I  am  sad  to  think  of  the  scrawling  hideousness 
which  will  be  left  to  me  as  my  records  of  Cyprus. 

The  sanitary  arrangements  here  are  dreadful :  how  the  people 
exist  I  cannot  imagine,  and  yet  they  live  and  have  large,  healthy 
families.  The  wife  of  the  owner  of  this  house  said  the  other 
day  that  she  had  never  been  outside  Nicosia  in  her  life  :  she 
has  a  host  of  children,  all  of  whom  looked  healthy.  Fleas  and 
bugs  abound.  I  was  going  over  an  old  building,  when  some  one 
drew  attention  to  my  trousers,  which,  below  the  knee,  were 
Hterally  covered  with  a  mass  of  jumping  fleas.  I  thought  how 
the  tapering  ankles  of  a  certain  lady  would  have  suffered  in  such 
a  place. 

Oh,  if  you  could  only  see  my  shirts  as  they  have  come  home 
from  the  wash  1  Despair  would  fill  your  mind  :  but  I  hope  to 
import  washerwomen — may  they  be  good-looking  !  ! — ^from 
Malta,  where  the  art  of  starching  is  well  understood.  A  quaint 
Irish  doctor,  just  from  England,  says  that  Cyprus  reminds 
him  of  maps  of  the  moon  which  show  there  is  neither  water, 
vegetation,  nor  even  atmosphere  in  it.  Don't  allow  any  one  to 
think  I  am  disappointed  with  the  place — ^tell  them  I  write  most 
cheerfully.  I  really  like  the  work  :  it  bristles  with  difficulties, 
but  they  are  made  to  be  beaten  down  ;  if  only  I  spoke  Turkish 
how  quickly  I  could  surmount  them.  Herbert,  my  admirable 
private  secretary,  is  worked  hard  ciphering  and  deciphering  the 
telegrams. 

Camp  Nicosia,  24th  November, 

Lord  This  day  month  I  hope  to  see  you  installed  in  Government 

Woiseiey.  jjousc,  if  all  goes  wcU.  My  next  letter  I  shall  address  to  the 
Consul  at  Naples,  as  Sir  Geoffrey  Hornby  most  kindly  sends  a 
dispatch  boat  there  for  you.  It  will  be  a  four  days'  passage  from 
thence  to  Lamaka,  where  I  shall  meet  you  :  I  could  not  leave 
the  island  without  special  leave  from  the  Queen,  and  I  do  not 
want  to  ask  for  it  at  present,  for  many  reasons.  I  hope  you 
have  been  able  to  get  the  Frenchwoman,  for  even  if  she  only 
stays  a  year  it  will  be  a  great  help  in  starting  the  establish- 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  33 

ment.  I  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  couple  of  Greek 
women  as  housemaids  for  our  own  private  part  of  the 
house.  I  have  heard  of  a  cook  at  Malta  who  seems  to  promise 
well. 

Bring  some  mignonette,  some  sweet  pea,  some  hop,  some 
wallflower,  some  heartsease  seed,  and  a  few  dozen  of  crocus 
roots  ;  anything  and  everything  will  grow  here.  Also  enough 
good  grass  seed  to  sow  an  acre.  I  hope  to  have  a  gardener  by 
the  time  you  arrive. 

I  want  a  hand  magnifying-glass  for  examining  maps,  and 
a  set  of  lawn-tennis  things — the  best  rackets  and  five  dozen 
of  the  best  covered  balls.  I  have  just  got  the  silk  for  the 
Queen,  and  have  ordered  enough  for  a  dress  to  be  sent  to 
Eyty.  I  am  sending  Lady  CowelP  a  chemise  like  the  one  I 
sent  the  Queen.  When  you  come  here,  I  think  we  can  please 
friends  by  sending  them  gold  coins  which  I  can  buy  for  a  pound 
apiece.  I  am  afraid  the  house  will  be  so  unfinished  that  you 
will  not  be  as  comfortable  at  first  as  I  could  wish  you  to  be  : 
however,  I  am  sure  you  won't  mind  that. 


Camp  Nicosia,  2nd  December  1878. 
To-day  I  had  a  visit  suddenly  from  a  Mr.  Blunt  and  his    J-j^j 


wife.  Lady  Anne  Blunt  ;  she  is  a  daughter  of  old  Lord  Lovelace 
by  his  first  wife  and  so  a  granddaughter  of  Lord  Byron. 
They  were  en  route  for  Damascus  and  the  Desert. 

I  trust  we  may  not  be  separated  again  for  some  time  to 
come,  and  that  our  mountain  sanatorium  may  prove  a  great 
success  :  otherwise  I  shall  have  to  send  you  off  to  France  or 
Switzerland.  If  Cyprus  does  not  suit  you,  I  shall  try  and  get 
out  of  it  when  I  have  put  it  in  order.  But  if  I  leave  this,  I  don't 
know  what  I  am  to  do,  for  the  Commander-in-Chiefship  in 
India  will  not  be  vacant  until  1881,  and  then  it  is  not  by  any 
means  certain  I  should  be  given  it ;  I  presume  it  will  fall  to  Sir 
Neville  Chamberlain,  who  has  taken  Sir  E.  Johnson's  place  on 
the  Viceroy's  Council,  and  who  is  In  high  favour  with  Lord 
Lytton^  at  present.  I  have  just  had  a  letter  from  CoUey,  in 
which  he  says  that  if  I  had  gone  to  Bombay  I  should  have  been 
employed  by  Lytton  in  the  war,  but  that  he  could  not,  without 

1  Wife  of  Sir  John  Cowell,  Master  of  the  Household  to  Queen  Victoria. 

2  First  Earl  of  Lytton  (1831-91) ;  Viceroy  of  India,  1876-80. 


Wolseley. 


34  THE  LETTERS  OF 

giving  great  offence  to  the  Army  in  India,  have  sent  for  an  out- 
sider to  take  command  :  to  have  done  so  would  have  been  to 
say  there  was  no  one  in  India  fit  for  the  job.  I  don't  see  this, 
of  course,  in  the  same  Hght.  If  he  has  a  man  in  India  as  fit  as 
I  am,  then  he  is  quite  right  in  his  reasoning,  but  if  the  man  he 
has  employed  is,  in  his  opinion,  inferior  in  military  ability  to 
me,  then  he  is  altogether  wrong.  In  his  place  I  would  insist,  in 
the  public  interest,  on  having  the  ablest  General  in  the  service, 
even  if  I  had  to  send  to  Timbuctoo  for  him. 


Grand  H6tel  du  Casino, 

Deauville,  nr.  Trouville, 

ijth  August  1878. 

Lady  When  I  got  here  at  midnight  on  Thursday,  my  eyes  were 

Woiseiey-  gladdened  by  a  nice  long  letter  which  contained  the  sketch 
of  your  Nicosia  house.  The  Dieppe  hotel  was  dear,  and 
as  I  spent  as  little  as  possible  on  eating  and  drinking,  they 
evidently  did  not  want  to  keep  me.  We  were  pushed  up 
to  bad  rooms  on  the  fourth  floor,  the  waiters  paid  us  no 
kind  of  attention,  and  if  I  ordered  anything,  invariably 
forgot  all  about  it.  I  like  this  place  much  better  than 
Dieppe.  It  is  very  pretty,  charming  villas,  in  wooded  and 
flowered  gardens  scattered  along  the  seashore.  There  is  a 
pier  and  a  Casino,  but  one  never  sees  any  one  about ;  it  is  as 
quiet  as  possible.  We  liked  watching  the  people  to-day  going 
to  the  races  from  this  hotel.  One  turn-out — ^the  Due  de  Some- 
body— ^was  very  pretty,  the  postilion  with  powdered  hair  and 
a  pig-tail,  and  the  horses'  tails  plaited  tightly  up.  Truman 
had  a  great  fight  with  the  maid  of  the  Duchesse,  who  had  a 
gown  to  iron  for  her  mistress,  and  who  took  the  irons  Truman 
had  been  heating  for  my  dresses,  which  travelling  has  sadly 
crumpled.  I  have  made  acquaintance  with  an  old  French 
lady,  Mme  de  Gautray,  who  has  asked  me  to  go  with  her  to  the 
races  to-morrow,  if  I  don't  mind  going  on  a  Sunday.  The 
landlady  (who  is  very  like  Lady  Sherborne)  told  me  the  old 
lady  is  a  very  distinguee  person  and  quite  comme  il  faut ;  she 
takes  the  same  apartments  every  year,  with  her  brother,  a 
banker,  and  they  bring  carriage  and  servants  and  four  horses. 
The  racecourse  is  within  fifty  yards  of  this  hotel,  and  Trouville 
gathers  at  the  races,  so  I  hope  to  see  all  the  elegantes. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  35 

H6tel  du  Casino,  Deauville — Trouville, 

2yd  August  1878. 

The  Cyprian  postal  arrangements  seem  very  vague  outside  Lady 
the  Island  whatever  they  may  be  inside,  under  your  sway.  I  ^(>^^^^^' 
continue  to  like  this  place,  and  am  glad  I  came.  Last  Sunday 
to  the  races  with  the  Gautrays.  Such  a  pretty  racecourse,  quite 
Goodwoodish,  We  had  seats  close  to  the  "  fauteuils  "  reserved 
for  the  MacMahons.  There  were  a  great  many  Marquises  and 
Baronnes,  but  I  was  neither  struck  by  their  looks  nor  by  the 
superiority  in  dress  to  good  Englishwomen.  Certainly  the  gowns 
fit  much  better,  that  must  be  allowed.  The  only  famiUar  faces 
I  saw  were  that  curious  Lord  Henry  Lennox  and  Mrs.  Wode- 
house,  who  was  going  about  with  Christine  Nilsson.  I  saw 
"  Kincussie  "  win  her  thirty-eighth  race,  and  even  I  felt  a  little 
excited  about  it.  After  the  races  we  drove  into  Trouville,  looked 
at  the  shops  ("Boutiquons  un  peu,"  said  M.  Gautray),  and 
then  on  the  beach  saw  Mesdames  de  Sagan  and  de  GalHffet. 
They  were  wonderfully  "turned  out,"  but  I  did  not  quite  reaUse 
their  world-famed  beauty.  M.  Gautray  had  a  little  chat  with 
them  and  I  fancy  told  them  who  I  was,  for  on  our  second  time 
of  passing  them  they  took  stock  of  me. 

Long  hours  with  the  Gautrays  benefit  my  French.  I  am 
becoming  quite  gUb  again.  They  have  an  elderly  friend  who 
drives  out  with  us,  "qui  a  ete  tres  joli  gargon,"  and  is  now, 
according  to  Mile  Gautray,  "  un  homme  s6rieux."  We  went 
to  a  dance  at  the  Casino.  I  felt  so  sorry  for  my  nation  when 
a  portly  Englishman  stood  up  for  a  quadrille  partnered  by 
his  wife  (by  whom  he  has  had  twelve  children,  all  here, 
and  a  very  unkempt  lot  they  are),  with  his  daughter  and 
a  young  EngUsh  lout  as  vis-d-vis.  Every  one  present  was 
prettily  dressed,  and  wearing  bonnets  or  hats,  but  these  Britons 
attend  the  dances  in  square-cut  bodices  and  squashed  flowers 
on  their  heads.  No  one  else  in  the  room  danced  this  quadrille, 
but  the  gravity  of  the  French  was  admirable,  as  also  the  com- 
placency of  the  English.  Old  Am^ee  remarked,  "Voil^  la 
morale  pure!"  and  Mile  Gautray  said,  "Ah!  c'est  une  petite 
d^bauche  de  famille." 

I  wrote  to  Captain  Hozier  about  your  "  North  American," 
and  I  heard  from  him  last  week  from  Homburg,  and  ...  he  is 
going  to  be  married  ! !  and  to,  he  says,  "the  best  and  brightest 


36  THE  LETTERS  OF 

of  the  maidens  of  Europe,"  Lady  Blanche  Ogilvy,  a  daughter 
of  Lord  AirUe.  He  seems  transcendent  ally  happy,  and  says, 
"  I  am  quite  astounded  at  my  own  good  fortune,  and  was  awfully 
frightened  that  a  certain  interview  which  I  once  held  with  one 
of  H.M.'s  Judges  at  Westminster  might  have  upset  the  whole 
coach,  but  I  went  at  the  very  first  boldly  to  Lord  Airlie  and  told 
him  the  whole  story,  and  the  girl  behaved  like  a  brick  and 
stuck  to  it."  My  old  French  lady  is  of  a  nervous  tempera- 
ment ;  I  wonder  what  would  become  of  her  if,  like  me,  she  had 
to  shift  for  herself  and  had  not  her  brother  always  with  her. 
M.  Amddee  thought  of  going  to  Havre  the  other  day  for  the 
funeral  mass  to  Queen  Christina,  a  trajet  of  45  minutes  on  the 
steamer,  and  such  a  cackling  as  there  was  beforehand  about 
this  little  journey.  She  thought  she  must  go  with  him  as  he 
might  "se  trouver  mal,"  and  what  would  he  do  if  that  were  the 
case  *'  et  si  ses  petites  douleurs  le  reprennent,"  etc.  etc.  (He 
had  had  rheumatism  a  couple  of  days  before.)  She  thought 
the  journey  "de  la  demiere  imprudence,"  and  finally,  as  it  was 
rather  rough,  he  did  not  go.  How  the  French  turn  round  and 
round  a  small  subject !  And  every  one  travels  and  walks  and 
lives  with  their  grandmother.  The  child,  the  mother,  and  the 
grandmother  go  everywhere  together.  Frances  and  I  went 
to  pay  Mme  Gautray  a  little  visit  last  week,  and  found  her 
cure  with  her.  When  he  went  away  I  told  Frances  to  open 
the  door  for  him,  which  seemed  to  please  him,  and  he  said,  "  La 
porte  ouverte  par  une  ange,"  to  which  Mile  Gautray,  without 
a  moment's  hesitation,  answered,  "  Au  bon  Dieu,  Monsieur," 
meaning  the  plump  priest  himself,  and  this  he  faintly  deprecated 
by  holding  out  his  fat  hands.  How  very  impious  it  sounds  in 
English,  does  it  not  ? 

H6TEL  DE  L'UnIVERS,   ToURS, 

21st  October  1878. 

Lady  The  French  papers  have  it  that  you  are  to  be  Commander- 

Woiseiey.  in-Chief  of  the  Army  against  Afghanistan,  as  no  one  would  be 
so  fit  as  a  descendant  of  the  great  Wolsey.  I  heard  this  morning 
from  Lady  SHgo.  She  had  to  leave  Ireland  by  reason  of  an 
attack  of  eczema.  That  is  a  rash  round  the  waist,  is  it  not — or 
am  I  confusing  it  with  shingles  ?  They  are  going  to  Italy, 
and  have  given  up  Cyprus,  for  finding  you  have  at  present 
only  one  wooden  hut,  she  thinks  it  would  be  indiscreet  to  visit 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  37 

you.  I  am  longing  to  hear  from  you,  that  my  plans  may  be 
a  little  more  definite.  I  feel  doubtful  about  Malta  for  an  in- 
definite time ;  the  "  sociability  "  of  it  would  be  rather  too  much 
for  a  Trappist  Uke  me.  At  the  same  time,  if  there  were  any 
chance  of  your  going  to  Afghanistan,  I  should  fly  to  Malta  at 
once,  to  be  near  at  hand  to  rush  over  and  see  you.  Please 
recollect  you  must  not  go  on  to  Afghan  without  seeing  me,  if 
I  even  seeyou  for  five  minutes  and  go  thousands  of  miles  to  see  you. 
I  could  not  stand  your  running  off  on  a  second  triumphal 
course  without  that. 

I  hope  you  will  Uke  some  cretonne  I  have  bought  here ; 
though  pretty  it  is  scarcely  Morris.  Then  I  have  bought  une 
etoffe  serieuse,  which  would  do  for  dining-room  or  your  sitting- 
room.     My  French  is  much  less  rusty.     Miss  L.  describes  to 

me  Lord 's  daughters'  toilettes  at  the  Versailles  ball.    Black 

velveteen  with  leather  belts,  and  you  know  their  plain  faces. 
It  was  a  terrible  ball,  and  ladies  were  carried  fainting  into  the 
street  in  their  satins  and  diamonds,  and  had  their  faces  washed 
in  the  dirty  gutter  water.  The  poor  girls  never  got  beyond  the 
outer  porch,  for  which  position  and  temperature  their  gowns  were 
very  suitable.  While  I  think  of  it,  one  sentence  in  your  last 
letter  filled  me  with  dismay.  You  say  the  new  P.  Sec.  is  brother 
of  our  Mr.  Dalzell,  whom  I  recollect  perfectly.  I  thought  it  was 
the  man  himself,  and  have  written  to  him  as  if  I  knew  him,  which 
of  course  made  my  style  more  familiar  than  it  would  have  been 
to  a  perfect  stranger.  I  confess  that  though  his  repUes  were 
perfectly  civil  I  thought  them  rather  distant.  No  doubt  he 
thought  me  a  very  forward  woman.  Will  you,  if  he  is  still  in 
Cyprus,  explain  this  to  him. 

Aylesford  House,  Wimbledon, 

18th  November  1878. 

Your  letter  of  the  5th,  detailing  the  Naples  plan  and  desiring  Lady 
me  to  be  there  on  the  loth  December,  has  just  reached  me.  If  o^^^- 
our  house  has  no  heating  apparatus  ready,  and  fireplaces  are 
not  finished  when  I  get  to  Malta,  I  think  I  would  leave  Frances 
there  for  a  few  weeks,  as  a  new  cold  house  might  lay  the  child  up. 
I  am  writing  to  Mrs.  Stockwell  to  search  out  two  ugly,  strong 
housemaids,  too  old  for  men,  and  not  too  old  for  work. 

I  had  a  charming  letter  from  Colonel  Stanley^  about  you, 
*  Secretary  for  War,  1878-80.     Afterwards  sixteenth  Earl  of  Derby. 


38    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

full  of  your  praise,  also  from  Sir  H.  Holland,  and  responded 
respectfully  and  gratefully  to  the  first  and  gratefully  to  the 
second. 

I  shall  hail  your  little  figure  with  joy,  but   don't   bring  a 
''  brilliant  staff  "  on  board  to  look  at  my  seasick  face. 


I 879-1880 

[Sir  Garnet's  tenure  of  office  at  Cyprus  was  cut  short  by 
the  state  of  affairs  in  South  Africa.  He  was  brought  home 
nominally  to  sit  on  a  Committee  deaHng  with  the  circum- 
stances of  small  wars,  really  to  receive  the  appointment  of 
Governor  and  High  Commissioner  of  S.E.  Africa,  with  the  local 
rank  of  General  while  commanding  all  the  forces  in  the  Terri- 
tory. Lord  Chelmsford  had  won  the  battle  of  Ulundi  before  his 
successor  could  reach  the  front,  but  on  the  latter  devolved  the 
duty  of  capturing  Cetewayo  and  effecting  the  settlement  of  Zulu- 
land,  and  in  the  Transvaal  of  putting  a  term  to  the  maleficent 
sway  of  Sekukuni.] 

CHAPTER  V 

On  Board  the  "Edinburgh  Castle," 
Dartmouth,  30/5/79. 

What  a  brave  little  woman  you  are,  and  how  manfully  Lord 
you  bore  up  all  yesterday,  and  indeed  ever  since  the  news  ^^^^^^y- 
arrived  that  I  was  to  leave  for  the  Cape.  And  you  make 
so  light  of  all  your  troubles  incident  upon  having  a  soldier 
"  a  staff  officer  of  importance  "  as  a  husband.  Such  a  crowd 
of  people  at  Paddington,  among  others  Lady  Elcho,  whom 
I  met  for  the  first  time  ;  she  was  there  to  wish  me  God- 
speed. I  hate  these  demonstrations  before  the  event  ;  if  I 
deserve  them  six  months  hence  I  shall  be  glad  to  accept  them, 
but  now  they  jar  on  my  ear.  All  the  way  down  the  line 
crowds  in  every  station.  At  Bristol  my  carriage  was  besieged, 
and  I  thought  the  men  pressing  upon  it  would  smash  the 
windows. 

I  am  writing  a  few  lines  to  Lady  Burdett-Coutts  to  thank 
her  for  her  present  to  the  army  under,  or  to  be  under,  my  com- 
mand.    Good-bye. 

39 


40  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Tuesday,  24th  June  1879. 

Lord  Here  I  am  in  a  fine  large  room  of  Government  House.     We 

oiseiey.  jg^j^^jg^j  jg^^g  yesterday  evening  and  found  the  Freres  ^  just  ending 
a  levee,  so  they  were  en  grande  tenue. 

The  first  thing  we  heard  upon  arrival  here  was  of  the  Prince 
Imperial's  death.  His  poor  mother  has  nothing  now  left  her 
to  live  for.  I  hear  sad  accounts  of  the  condition  of  affairs 
in  our  columns  under  Crealock  and  Lord  C,  so  I  am  hurrying 
to  the  front  as  fast  as  possible.  I  dislike  responsibility  thrown 
on  my  shoulders  at  a  period  when  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  me 
to  initiate  plans.  In  both  my  previous  expeditions  the  plans 
were  my  own,  the  organisation  of  the  force  my  own,  and  the  men 
to  carry  out  the  campaign  my  own  selection.  How  different 
is  all  this !    News  just  in  that  I  can  get  off  this  evening  at  5  p.m. 

On  Board  H.M.S.  "  Shah  "— 

AT  Sea  between  Zululand  and  Durban, 

Port  Durnford,  Friday,  4th  July  1879. 

Lord  My  first  start  in  the  campaign  has  been  unfortunate.     I 

Woiseiey.  jgf^  Durban  last  Tuesday  evening  in  this  ship  for  Port  Durnford, 
where,  the  next  morning,  I  found  that  a  heavy  sea  had  set  in, 
rendering  all  landing  that  day  impossible.  We  hoped  for  better 
things  on  the  morrow,  and  then  signal  was  made  from  shore 
that  there  was  a  "  good  beach  "  ;  we  all  bundled  into  a  little 
tug,  from  which  we  were  transferred  to  a  Ughter  just  outside  the 
breaking  rollers — ^we  were  all  battened  down  into  a  small,  dark 
hold,  preparatory  to  attempting  to  get  through  the  surf,  when 
the  Commodore  signalled  from  the  shore  to  stop  ;  so,  after  about 
two  hours  of  misery,  we  returned  and  had  greater  difficulty  in 
boarding  the  Shah  than  in  leaving  her.  I  am  somewhat  down  in 
my  luck  about  this,  as  I  was  most  anxious  to  join  Crealock's 
column  ;  with  a  fine  day  at  Port  Durnford,  I  should  now  be  in 
the  field  instead  of  knocking  about  in  this  ship.  Towards  night 
yesterday  it  came  on  to  blow  hard,  so  the  safety  of  the  ship 
obliged  us  to  go  to  sea  ;  and  with  there  being  no  apparent  like- 
lihood of  the  sea  being  calm  for  some  time,  I  decided  to  return 
to  Durban,  where  I  hope  to  land  this  evening  and  start  to- 

*  Sir  Bartle  Frere  was  High  Commissioner  for  S.  Africa.    Wolseley's 
appointment  practically  involved  Frere's  supersession  in  Natal. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  41 

morrow  for  the  lower  Tugela,  en  route  for  Port  Dumford  by  land. 
All  this  puts  me  out  very  much,  and  I  am  anxious  about 
Chelmsford's  column.  He  has  violated  every  principle  of  war 
in  his  plan  of  campaign,  and  has,  in  fact,  courted  disaster.  As 
far  as  this  war  is  concerned,  Crealock's  column  might  just  as  well 
have  been  in  England.  Chelmsford  has  been  pushing  on  ever 
since  he  heard  I  was  to  supersede  him,  hoping  very  naturally 
to  do  something  brilliant  to  end  the  war  before  I  come  on  the 
field. 

10th  July  1879. 

As  you  will  know  when  this  reaches  you,  I  believe  the  war  Lord 
to  be  over,  and  I  don't  see  why  another  shot  should  be  fired,  ^o^*'^- 
Chelmsford's  successful  fight  on  the  4th  instant  has  com- 
pletely demoralised  the  enemy,  and  Cetewayo's  troops  are  now 
dispersed  to  their  homes,  and  are  never  again  Ukely  to  answer 
his  call.  At  this  moment  the  King  is  in  a  place  called  Ngome, 
north  of  the  Black  Umualosi  River.  If  I  could  only  capture 
him  I  should  be  happy,  or  if  some  kind  friend  would  run  an 
assegai  through  him.  I  have  summoned  all  the  Great  Chiefs 
to  meet  me  next  week,  when  I  shall  endeavour  to  lay  down 
the  law  to  them  and  make  terms.  Chelmsford  is  now  coming 
down  towards  me.  He  is  evidently  very  much  put  out  by 
being  superseded,  and  I  have  had  some  trouble  in  making  him 
answer  the  helm.  Now,  however,  that  he  has  had  a  success 
he  ought  to  be  happy,  and  I  hope  he  means  to  return  home  at 
once.  I  feel  for  him  with  all  my  heart,  for  I  know  how  he  must 
have  suffered. 

I  have  now  more  ofiicers  than  I  know  what  to  do  with,  and 
am  already  beginning  to  think  of  sending  many  home. 

Rorke's  Drift,  /^h  August  1879. 

I  hear  there  is  a  general  stampede  from  Cyprus,  even  old  Lord 
Holbech  writes  to  me  saying  he  wants  to  leave  and  come  here,  ^^feg/^y. 
I  see  there  has  been  a  row  about  Captain  Inglis  at  Famagusta 
cutting  the  hair  and  beards  of  two  priests  whom  he  imprisoned. 
I  am  anxious  to  see  what  has  taken  place  in  Parliament 
when  Sir  C.  Dilke  called  attention  to  a  dispatch  of  mine 
about  Cyprus.  I  am  very  glad  we  are  out  of  that  place.  I 
hear  the  Duke  has  promised  to  give  the  appointment  of  C.-in-C. 
in  India  to  Sir  E.  Johnson,  now  the  Military  Member  of  Council 


42  THE  LETTERS  OF 

there.  Of  course  the  nomination  will  not  rest  entirely  with 
H.R.H.,  and  if  I  do  well  here,  as,  please  God,  I  hope  to  do, 
the  Government  may  possibly  insist  upon  my  being  given  it. 
However,  the  Duke's  wishes  in  such  a  matter  have  great  weight, 
and  if  Johnson  is  all  right  in  1881,  when  the  berth  is  vacant, 
I  have  little  chance  of  obtaining  it. 

Maurice  ^  is  very  hard-working  and  abundantly  clever,  but 
he  would  make  you  laugh  by  his  personal  appearance  if  you 
were  here.  When  we  marched  in  here  he  had  lost  his  horse, 
his  helmet,  his  sword,  pistol,  etc.  He  appeared  in  the  early 
morning  mounted  on  a  mule  in  a  pair  of  breeches,  with  a 
pair  of  elastic-sided  boots,  and  a  waterproof  coat  over  all,  the 
cape  of  which  was  fastened  down  over  his  head  and  round  his 
neck  with  a  strap.  This  morning  he  came  to  my  tent  in  a 
night-cap,  the  same  elastic-sided  boots,  and  a  military  overcoat, 
one  of  the  buttons  at  the  back  of  which  he  had  dragged  round 
in  some  mysterious  manner,  and  fastened  to  a  buttonhole  in  the 
front.  He  never  sees  that  there  is  anj^hing  peculiar  in  all  this, 
but  is  prepared  to  argue  that  his  dress  is  admirably  devised 
for  what  it  is  intended.  When  I  laughed  at  him  this  morn- 
ing, he  at  once  opened  his  coat  and  said,  "You  see  what  my 
plan  is."  He  had  a  railway  rug  or  a  horse  blanket  fastened 
round  his  waist  like  a  kilt,  with  a  leather  strap ;  it  protected 
his  loins,  he  said.  His  tent,  I  am  told,  is  a  picture  of  confusion  : 
everything  lying  about  it  as  if  his  bags  were  turned  upside 
down  and  their  contents  shaken  out  "  anyhow.*' 

Ulundi,  j.'^th  August  1879. 

What  a  row  there  has  been  in  Cyprus  about  Captain  Inglis 

Woiseiey.  cutting  the  hair  and  beards  of  some  filthy  Greek  priests  !    I  have 

seen  a  dispatch  on  the  subject,  and  am  sorry  he  refers  in  such 

unmeasured  terms  to  the  unhealthiness  of  Famagusta.     He 

has  yet  to  learn  that  it  does  not  do  to  insert  the  whole  truth  in 

official  correspondence.     Dispatches  should  always  be  strictly 

true,  but  unpleasant  truths  that  can  be  made  use  of  by  the 

opponents  of  the  Government  you  are  serving  should  be  reserved 

for  our  private  correspondence  with  Ministers.     I  am  making 

my   first    venture   this    evening   to    catch   Cetewayo.     Major 

Barrow,  the  19th  Hussars,  is  to  command  the  party,  about  300 

strong.     They  are  to  start  at  dark  and  march  all  night,  so  as  to 

surround  the  kraal  in  which  the  King  is  at  daybreak.     If  the 

1  Afterwards  General  Sir  Frederick  Maurice. 


Lord 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  43 

King  has  not  changed  his  place  of  residence,  I  shall  get  him. 
If  he  would  only  resist  and  be  killed,  the  result  would  be  still 
more  satisfactory. 

Camp  Ulundi,  Zululand, 
2(^th  August  1879. 

Well,  after  more  than  one  miss,  Cetewayo  is  a  prisoner  Lo^d 
at  last.  This  morning  early  I  heard  the  clatter  of  hoofs  past  ^oiseUy. 
my  tent,  and  upon  going  out  was  greeted  by  a  cry,  "  They've 
caught  him,  sir."  My  heart  jumped  within  me  when  I  heard 
the  news.  All  my  plans  for  the  pacification  of  the  country 
hinged  upon  his  capture.  As  days  went  by,  and  he  managed 
to  slip  through  my  patrols,  I  became  nervous,  and  I  was  at 
times  even  sorry  that  I  had  taken  up  the  decided  line  of 
guaranteeing  him  nothing  beyond  his  life.  Now,  however, 
thank  God,  all  this  is  past.  Old  Frere  has  promised  to 
accept  the  charge  of  Cetewayo  at  Cape  Town,  and  so  ends  his 
reign — I  am  just  telegraphing  to  the  Ministers  at  home  to  give 
them  this  acceptable  news.  The  troops  will  vacate  Zululand,  and 
I  hope  to  leave  this  on  the  5th  September  en  route  for  the  Trans- 
vaal. As  I  write  this,  a  man  is  being  tried  for  murder  in  front 
of  my  tent,  and  will  most  probably  be  executed.  He  is  a  native, 
and  killed  a  friend  against  whom  he  had  a  spite,  saying  that  he 
would  now  do  as  he  liked  because  there  was  no  king.  He 
will  find  out  his  mistake. 

I  have  managed  to  secure  one  of  Cetewayo's  necklaces  of 
lions'  claws — only  the  highest  in  the  land  are  allowed  to  wear 
such  a  distinction.  I  shall  send  home  a  few  of  the  claws  by 
Gifford  to  be  mounted.  And  round  the  edge  will  be  engraved, 
"  Cetewayo,  28th  August  1879."  I  shall  tell  Dobson  to  mount 
them  and  to  await  instructions  from  you  as  to  their  disposal. 
You  must  write  a  note  with  each,  saying  I  send  a  Uttle  "  charm," 
which  had  formed  part  of  Cetewayo's  necklace.  Baroness 
Coutts  ;  Lady  Constance  Stanley  ;  Lady  Sherborne  ;  Lady 
Cardwell  ;  Miss  Goschen  ;  Miss  Smith  (the  Admiralty  man's 
daughter)  ;  one  to  each  of  the  Miss  Hennikers  and  the  Miss 
Lawrences  occur  to  me. 

ist  September. — I  have  at  a  meeting  of  the  principal  Chiefs 
announced  those  I  have  selected  to  rule.  There  will  be  a  howl 
from  Colenso  and  his  friends  at  my  having  transported  Cetewayo, 
but  really,  if  Napoleon  could  be  sent  to  St.  Helena  and  there 
kept  until  he  died,  because  he  was  considered  as  dangerous  to 


44  THE  LETTERS  OF 

the  peace  of  Europe,  it  is  absurd  to  complain  that  a  barbarian 
monarch  is  exiled  when  his  being  at  large  would  certainly  prevent 
peace  in  South  Africa.  The  people  who  swallowed  the  camel 
Napoleon  need  not  make  wry  faces  when  asked  to  bolt  a  gnat 
like  Cetewayo.  I  have  just  had  a  long  letter  about  Sir  H. 
Bulwer  from  Lady  Frere,  with  some  rather  extravagant  talk 
about  the  Prince  Imperial.  I  have  the  deepest  sympathy  with 
his  mother,  who  has  now  lost  the  only  tie  that  bound  her  to 
earth,  but  beyond  that  and  a  feeling  that  his  death  has  cast 
a  shadow  upon  the  good  name  of  our  army,  I  have  no  wish 
to  give  the  event  undue  importance.  He  was  a  plucky  young 
man,  and  he  died  a  soldier's  death.  What  on  earth  could  he 
have  better  ?  Many  other  brave  men  have  also  fallen  during 
this  war,  and  with  the  Prince's  fate  England  as  a  nation  had 
no  concern.  Perhaps  I  have  insufficient  sympathy  with  foreign 
nations  ;  I  reserve  all  my  deep  feelings  for  Her  Majesty's 
subjects. 

Pretoria,  The  Transvaal, 
Toth  October  1879. 

Lord  There  is  no  saying  how  soon  Sir  Bartle  may  be  leaving  for 

Woiseiey.  England.  This  is,  however,  a  great  secret  ;  I  only  mention 
it  to  you,  as  it  might  possibly  have  some  influence  upon  your 
and  my  future.  I  hope  not,  however,  and  I  have  taken  all 
expedient  precautions  to  protect  me  from  being  asked  to  take 
his  place.  I  have  been  all  the  morning  inspecting  the  Roman 
Catholic  Bishop's  school  here,  listening  to  little  girls  sing  and 
play  duets  on  the  piano — what  an  occupation  !  In  the  evening 
I  am  going  to — ^what  ? — a  "  Ball," — actually  a  Ball  given  in 
my  honour,  and  I  am  urged  to  be  there  punctually  at  8.45  p.m. 
Good  heavens,  what  dreadful  things  "  amusements  "  are  in  this 
country ! 

Camp  near  Fort  Weeber, 

Friday,  yth  November  1879. 

Lord  I  am  encamped  on  a  pretty  spot  not  far  from  Baker  Russell's 

^  '^^'  camp.  In  the  mail  just  received  I  have  a  letter  from  a  good 
lady,  asking  me  to  give  a  cousin  of  hers  an  appointment  in 
some  colonial  corps  here.  He  is  at  present  captain  in  one  of  the 
regiments,  has  a  pretty  wife,  etc.  etc.,  and  all  the  other  requisites 
for  the  wished-for  position.  Dear  me,  what  curious  people  are 
in  the  world,  to  think  I  could,  or  would,  give  away  appoint- 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


45 


ments  to  men  because  they  had  married  pretty  girls  without 
fortunes  !  I  also  had  a  note,  written  at  the  request  of  the  ex- 
Empress  of  the  French,  begging  of  me  to  do  all  in  my  power  to 
obtain  for  her  any  of  the  things  the  Prince  Imperial  had  on  when 
he  was  killed. 

Camp  near  Sekukuni's  Town, 
The  Transvaal,  ^oth  November  1879. 

I  have  cracked  the  nut,  thank  God,  and  Sekukuni's  Town  is  Lord 
now  a  thing  of  the  past,  everything  destroyed,  his  people  killed,  ^^^<'^- 
prisoners,  or  dispersed  as  wanderers,  and  his  property  falling 
into  our  hands  daily.  If  we  can  only  scotch  the  Chief  him- 
self, the  thing  will  be  complete.  He  is  hiding  away  in  a 
cave  somewhere,  and  as  the  Leolu  mountains  are  a  mass  of 
caves  and  rocky  crannies,  it  will  be  no  easy  matter  to  lay  the 
villain  by  the  heels.  I  am  very  glad  I  came  here  with  a  large 
force  ;  with  a  small  one  I  should  have  failed,  for  the  positions 
occupied  by  the  enemy  are  strong  and  easily  defended.  Baker 
Russell  is  a  splendid  fellow,  and  I  felt  proud  of  him  as  a  friend 
of  mine  as  I  saw  him  standing  on  the  top  of  the  "  Fighting 
Koppie."  His  impetuous  daring  forced  him  on  to  the  attack, 
in  which,  as  Commanding  Officer  of  the  troops  engaged,  he 
was  not  expected  to  take  part.  Maurice  left  this  early  this 
morning  with  such  of  the  white  wounded  men  as  could  be 
safely  moved.  He  has  had  a  nasty  wound  in  the  shoulder,  but 
he  will  be  all  right  before  he  reaches  England.  He  is  as  brave 
a  fellow  as  ever  walked  in  shoe  leather,  and  shines  when 
leading  men  in  action. 

Pretoria,  i-^th  January  1880. 

I  have  been  thinking  over  the  very  serious  question  of  what      Lord 
we  shall  have  for  dinner  the  evening  I  reach  Fleming's  Hotel.      ^^^*>'- 
I  think  the  following  menu  would  be  delicious  for  a  man  who 
has  not  had  a  civilised  meal  for  many  months  : 

One  dozen  of  oysters  each. 

Clear,  very  cleax  and  strong  soup,  turtle,  if  possible. 
Fried  sole. 

Any  entr6e  you  like. 

Woodcock  or  snipe  (not  on  any  account  to  be  either  "  high  "  or  sent 
up  raw). 

Wines. 

Dry  sherry  and  dry  champagne, 
Delicious"! 


46  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  have  had  a  long  letter  from  the  Baroness  Coutts,  thanking  me 
for  the  claw.  What  a  nuisance  it  will  be  if  I  have  to  remain  in 
Natal  until  the  Empress  arrives  and  leaves  again  ;  I  should  dread 
to  be  in  attendance  on  her  whilst  she  is  engaged  in  this  pilgrimage 
to  the  spot  where  her  poor  son  was  killed.  I  don't  understand 
women  sufficiently  well  to  enable  me  to  do  justice  to  an  Empress 
under  such  unusual  conditions. 

I  am  sending  home  by  this  post  a  most  crushing  answer  to 
Billy  Russell's  ^  accusation  against  the  British  soldiers  here, 
denying  every  charge  he  made  against  them.  I  have  requested 
the  S.-of-S.  for  War  to  publish  my  reply,  and  I  hope  he  will  do  so. 

PlETERMARITZBURG, 

i$th  February  1880. 

Lord  Yesterday  brought  me  a  dispatch  that  the  Empress  was 

Woheiey.  leaving  England  early  next  month  and  that  the  Queen  desired 

I  should  do  all  in  my  power  to  help  her.     I  see  that  Billy 

Russell's   paper,   the  Army    and  Navy   Gazette,  continues  to 

write  in  nasty  strain  about  me. 

The  present  Ministry  are  in  a  funk  about  their  South  African 
policy,  and  my  presence  here  is  supposed  by  them  to  be  a  help, 
so  I  am  kept  doing  next  to  nothing  to  serve  the  exigencies  of 
party. 

Did  I  tell  you  in  any  of  my  former  letters  that  we  have  the 
prettiest  woman  here  whom  I  have  ever  seen  in  my  life — 
you  of  course  excepted  !  She  is  a  Mrs.  Lonsdale,  wife  of  a  man 
who  used  to  be  in  the  Army  and  who  raised  and  commanded 
a  corps  called  Lonsdale's  Horse  in  the  Zulu  War. 

Maritzburg,  2zrd  February  1880. 
Lord  If  I  had  not  told  you  to  expect  me  early  in  the  year,  you 

Woiseiey.  j^gj^j.  ^q^  ]^q  enjoying  yourself  in  some  pleasant  southern 
climate  abroad,  instead  of  being  condemned  to  the  fogs  and 
cold  of  London.  I  never  thought  that  I  should  have  been 
so  treated.  If  I  had  come  here  to  be  a  Civil  Governor  I 
should  have  no  ground  for  complaint,  but  I  came  to  bring  the 
Zulu  War  to  an  end  and  settle  the  native  disturbances  in  the 
Transvaal,  and  having  completed  my  mission  I  should  be  allowed 
to  return  home. 

1  War  correspondent  to  the  Daily  Telegraph,  afterwards  Sir  William 
RusselL 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  47 

I  wrote  to  Sir  C.  Ellice  telling  him  how  grateful  I  felt  to 
H.R.H.  for  having  made  me  Q.M.G.,  but  that  I  must  frankly  say 
that  in  accepting  the  berth  I  in  no  way  relinquished  my  hope 
of  succeeding  Haines.  I  told  the  A.G.  this  because  he  had  pre- 
viously informed  me  that  he,  like  myself,  was  one  of  the  candi- 
dates for  India.  I  added  that  I  lived — even  at  present — in 
daily  expectation  of  being  sent  there  direct.  He  writes  to  me 
in  the  most  cordial  strain,  but  when  I  was  in  Cyprus  he  told 
Maurice  that  I  was  a  great  fellow  to  pull  down  institutions,  but 
that  everything  I  had  ever  put  my  hand  to  in  the  way  of  re- 
construction had  ended  in  failure  ;  that  I  was  played  out,  etc. 
Please  God,  if  I  Hve  to  sixty  and  have  my  health,  I  will  leave 
some  reputation  behind  me. 

Young  woman,  you  are  falling  off  in  your  writing  very  much  ; 
you  do  not  write  nearly  as  clearly  or  as  legibly  as  you  used  to 
do  :  please  do  not  get  into  a  careless  way  of  writing,  for  your 
writing  used  to  be  quite  perfect ! 

Pretoria,  20th  March  1880. 

My  letters  show  me  that  the  formidable  party  against  Lord 
me  is  in  the  ascendant,  and  will  crush  me  if  it  can.  The  ^"^^^^^' 
Queen's  private  secretary  tells  me  Her  Majesty  is  offended 
because  I  said  in  a  letter  I  wrote  to  him,  that  we  have  never 
had  any  substantial  reforms  in  the  Army  since  the  Prince 
Consort  died,  and  that  were  he  living  now.  Army  Reform 
would  be  in  a  very  different  position.  This  is  certain,  for 
Prince  Albert  was  a  very  sensible  man,  and  took  his  own 
view.  The  Queen  very  naturally  adopts  the  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge's outlook,  and  because  he  dislikes  the  modem  views  I 
hold  on  military  subjects.  Her  Majesty  assumes  that  I  am  the 
Radical  I  am  painted.  I  detest  Radicals  ;  men  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's stamp  are  abhorrent  to  my  instinct,  they  are  vestry-men 
rather  than  Englishmen.  I  am  a  Jingo  in  the  best  acceptation 
of  that  sobriquet,  and  yet  I  am  represented  as  precisely  the 
reverse.  I  have  long  had  a  great  veneration  for  the  genius  of 
old  Dizzy,  and  I  shall  await  my  fate  under  his  Government 
with  eager  curiosity ;  and  I  shall  be  very  much  surprised  if  he 
allows  a  man,  who  has  scarcely  seen  a  shot  fired,  to  be  selected 
before  me  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  India. 

BiUy  Russell's  letter  is  a  fawning  composition  :  I  am  glad 
to]  hear  it  has  reached  home  that  his  abuse  of  the  military  is 


48  THE  LETTERS  OF 

greatly  due  to  the  fact  that  M'Calmont  hid  a  monkey  in  his  bed. 
I  am  very  glad  you  kept  Baker  from  writing  in  the  papers. 


Fleming's  Hotel,  iSth  May  1879. 

Lady  Oh,  my  dear,  I  am  so  tormented  and  so  bewildered  by  notes 

^  ^^  ^^'  and  calls  and  entreaties  to  serve  on  Committees.  It  has  been 
quite  maddening  ever  since  you  left — ^the  people  suck  at  one 
for  news.  Last  night  I  dined  with  the  Trevor  Lawrences.  A 
doctory  dinner,  Priestley,  Sir  H.  Thomson,  and  young  Paget — 
also  the  Alma  Tademas.  Did  I  tell  you  that  I  had  drawn  up 
with  the  latter  and  am  admitted  to  see  his  studio  and  their 
wonderful  house  ?  He  has  a  large  window  made  of  onyx  and  a 
piano  which  cost  £1000.  We  will  go  and  see  those  wonders 
again  together.  On  Monday  I  dined  with  the  Reays,  and 
met  the  new  American  Minister,  Mr.  Lowell  (he  wrote  The 
Biglow  Papers,  which  are  clever  satires,  it  seems).  Piper  (the 
Swede),  the  SHgos,  the  Arthur  Russells,  the  Grant  Duffs,  Lord 
and  Lady  Dalrymple,  who  is  very  pretty.  At  Lady  Stanhope's 
I  sat  between  Sir  William  Rose  and  Lord  Dorchester  (who 
was  effervescently  chatty),  and  was  introduced  to  Admiral 
Potheraud,  the  new  French  Ambassador,  who  praised  my 
French. 

There  seems  no  certainty  how  the  elections  will  go.  Neither 
side  seems  to  make  cock-sure.  Mr.  Dugdale  says  the  worst 
thing  for  the  country  would  be  the  Liberals  being  returned 
with  a  small  majority,  which  would  oblige  them  to  open  their 
arms  to  the  Radicals. 

I  drove  to  Wimbledon  yesterday,  and  lunched  with  Fanny, 
and  saw  there  your  dear  mother. 


H6tel  des  Ri^SERvoiRs,  Versailles, 
21st  July  1879. 

Lady  I  go  Up  to  Paris  sometimes  and  have  a  good  look  into  the 

Woiseiey.  ^-^^^  windows,  but  I  can't  detail  the  bonnets  and  lingerie  to 
you,  and  I  am  afraid  it  would  not  interest  you  if  I  did.  I 
have  been  to  see  Madame  de  Bassano.  Such  a  Heaven -forsaken 
house  as  she  lives  in.  It  might  be  "  Bleak  House."  It  is  by 
itself  at  the  dreary  end  of  a  new  street  and  with  a  straggling 
garden  round  it.    She  was  sitting  in  the  garden — ^to  which  a  very 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  49 

unceremonious  butler  let  me  find  my  way  myself — with  a  Yankee- 
French  oldish  lady.      She  had  a  very  shabby  black  dress  on, 
looked  pinched  and  red-nosed,  and  no  appearance  of  a  baby  ; 
however,  she  told  me  that  she  is  to  be  confined  in  November  (of 
this  more  anon).    Of  course  they  are  quite  broken  by  the  Prince's 
death  ;  she  said  the  Marquis  must  at  thirty-five  seek  a  career  for 
himself.     What  a  miserable  thing  to  have  hung  so  completely  all 
one's  life  on  another  man's  very  small  chance  of  success.     Then 
she  told  me  "  Jerome  "  would  not  go  to  see  the  Empress  as  she 
had  wished  after  the  funeral.    He  said  to  the  Due  de  B. :  "I  must 
take  my  children  to  London,  as  they  have  had  nothing  to  eat 
all  day,"  and  to  Princess  Mathilde,  when  she  urged  him  to  go : 
"  Je  ne  veux  plus  de  ces  embetements  1^."    To-day  I  had  a 
long  visit,  from  2  till  5.30,  from  Madame  Canrobert.     She  was 
very  nice  and  pleasant  indeed.     You   can  tell  Brack  I  was 
charmed  with  her  and  it  will  go  back.     She  had  come  back  to 
Paris  for  a  few  days,  after  the  Chislehurst  funeral,  to  fetch  the 
Marechal,  who,  as  you  know,  was  not  allowed  to  go  to  the  funeral. 
We  went  for  a  drive  together  to  a  very  pretty  place,  "  Rocancour," 
or  some  such  name,  belonging  to  a  friend  of  hers,  **  Madame 
Heine,"  who  is  a  Jewess,  immensely  rich,  famous  for  her  gardens 
and  flowers,  and  has  strawberries  at  Christmas,  not  for  five,  but  for 
five  himdred  people.     She  was  out,  but  Madame  Canrobert  will 
ask  her  to  call  on  me.     She  gave  me  some  interesting  particulars 
of  the  Queen's  visits  to  the  Empress  since  the  death.     It  appears 
that  the  first  time  she  offered  to  go  the  Empress  civilly  excused 
herself,  saying  she  had  seen  no  one.     The  Queen  wrote  back 
to  say  it  was  imperative  that  she  should  pay  the  visit,  as  pubHc 
opinion  required  it,  so  she  went.     The  second  time  was  after 
the  Queen  had  been  looking  on  at  the  funeral ;  she  expressed  a 
wish  to  see  the  Empress.     Madame  de  Mouchy  took  the  message 
to  the  Empress,  who  excused  herself,  saying  she  had  seen  none 
of  the  French  royal  family.     The  Queen  said,  "  Je  le  veux," 
and,  knowing  the  way  to  the  Empress's  room,  walked  up.    When 
she  got  to  the  door  the  Due  de  Bassano  said  the  Empress  was 
in  bed,  her  hair  not  done ;  she  was  wrapped  in  a  woollen  cou- 
verture.     The   Queen  said,  "  Annoncez-moi,"   and  walked  in. 
Now  she  has  gone  a  third  time  since  Madame  C.  left,  who  felt 
sure,  however,  it  was  a  great  trial  to  the  Empress.     She  says 
the  latter  was  not  beloved  by  the  ImperiaUsts  in  the  same  degree 
as  the  Emperer  and  the  son  were.     Madame  Canrobert  was 
4 


50  THE  LETTERS  OF 

dressed  almost  like  a  widow,  but  her  lips  painted  most  vividly, 
which  came  off  and  only  remained  in  occasional  red  spots  during 
our  drive  !  We  talked  of  Brack  ;  I  with  great  caution  only 
eulogising  his  great  talent,  his  fine  head,  and  domestic  patience. 
Then  she  had  heard  the  Prince  of  Wales  had  invited  some 
Imperialist  gentleman  to  act  for  a  French  Charity  before  the 
Prince  Imperial  was  dead  a  fortnight,  and  that  the  Comte  in 
question  had  written  back  point-blank  to  say  "  H.R.H.  must 
have  forgotten  the  recent  death  of  their  beloved  Prince."  This 
story  I  did  not  believe.  The  Queen  had  sent  for  Madame  Can- 
robert  hastily  one  day,  but  Madame  C.  had  started  already  on 
this  return  journey  to  Paris. 

The  W.O.  sent  me  a  printed  copy  of  your  official  telegram 
to  them,  and  when  the  soi-disant  copy  of  it  appeared  in  the 
papers  I  was  amused  to  see  how  they  swept  away  every  little 
fact  detrimental  to  Lord  C.  out  of  it — such  as  his  not  having 
communicated  with  you,  etc.  I  am  longing  to  hear  what  news 
your  next  letter  brings,  and  hoped  it  might  have  come  before  I 
sent  off  this,  but  unless  it  comes  to-morrow  morning  that  will 
not  be  the  case.  The  Lawrences  have  been  meeting  Major 
"  Serpa  Pinto."  His  boast  is  that  his  two  years'  travel  cost  only 
£980,  whereas  Cameron  and  Stanley  spent  nearly  £20,000.  He 
Uved  on  a  bouillon  made  of  millet,  and  the  product  of  la 
chasse,  and,  luckily  for  himself,  is  bon  tireur.  I  wrote  to 
congratulate  Lady  Wood,  and  said  I  was  glad  so  pretty  a  name 
as  Evelyn  was  now  public  property,  and  we  might  all  call  him 
by  it. 

Versailles,  s^th  July  1879. 

Lady  It  is  too  dreadful  to  think  of  your  swimming  about  at  Port 

Woiseiey.  •  -^  ^^^  ^^^  being  able  to  land  while  Chelmsford  was  marshalling 
his  battahons.  I  am  sure  it  must  have  been  a  great  cr^ve-cceur 
to  you,  though  you  still  have  a  victory  to  achieve.  We  had 
a  fete  de  nuit  the  other  night,  the  fountains  playing  by 
the  electric  light,  and  70,000  oil-lamps  formed  into  arches, 
besides  an  embrasement  des  bosquets,  which  made  them  look 
as  if  they  were  all  on  fire  at  a  given  moment.  Thousands  of 
people  came  down  from  Paris  for  it. 

The  Hennikers  come  here  next  week,  and  bring  two  maids 
and  two  stalwart  footmen  to  carry  the  old  lady  up  and  down- 
stairs.   My  maid  looks  forward  to  this  in  her  present  exile; 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  51 

and  I  saw  a  look  of  elation  creep  into  her  face  when  I  mentioned 
them.  A  brand-new  English  milord  has  arrived  here,  but  I 
have  not  yet  got  at  his  name. 


12th  August  1879. 

Mr.  R.  Herbert  ^  tells  me  my  letters  have  arrived  late  for  the  Lady 
bag.  I  really  think  there  must  be  some  Col.  Office  stupidity,  for  ^°^^^^' 
I  post  them  myself  at  the  Grande  Poste  in  good  time,  and  find 
the  other  letters  for  London  arrive  punctually.  /  don't  feel  as 
if  Cetewayo  is  done  with  yet.  I  always  thought  it  strange  of 
Lord  C.  to  move  back  immediately  after  his  victory.  Really, 
what  poor  things  battles  are  nowadays  !  After  preparing  for 
three  months  they  did  not  fight  for  much  over  half  an  hour  ! 

I  must  tell  you  of  my  Rocquencourt  dinner  at  Madame 
"  Heine's  "  ;  she  said,  "  En  trds  petit  comit^,"  but  as  I  drove 
up  in  my  humble  cab,  two  carriages  full  of  people  dashed  up 
before  me.  I  was  asked  for  6  o'clock  (though  they  did  not  dine 
till  7.30)  that  I  might  see  the  place.  This  involved  a  difiiculty  in 
being  properly  dressed  for  both  occasions — at  least,  to  my  English 
notions  it  did.  The  grounds  are  lovely,  so  beautifully  kept, 
fine  old  trees,  beautiful  flowers,  etc.  She  has  wonderful  hot- 
houses, palm-houses,  etc.,  and  such  a  cow-house,  a  perfect 
drawing-room  for  the  cows,  and  at  the  end  of  it  a  room  panelled 
with  oak  and  with  china  plates  all  over  it,  and  little  tables  set 
about  with  lovely  cups  and  saucers  and  jugs  of  fresh  milk. 
The  party  consisted  of  eight  men  and  four  women,  the  latter 
being  Madame  H.,  myself ,  her  daughter,  the  Duchess  d'Elchingen, 
and  Madame  Barrat,  an  Englishwoman  who  had  lived  entirely 
abroad  and  been  an  "  Ambassatrice."  The  house  is  charming, 
luxurious  drawing-rooms,  one  after  the  other,  and  lived  in. 
The  men,  all  bien  tenues,  well  cravated  and  in  evening  dress, 
were  principally  Generals  and  their  A.D.C.'s  and  a  Marquis. 
(I  must  rise  above  the  Belgian  Baron  !)  The  dining-room 
table  laden  with  flowers,  five  or  six  men-servants  in  knee- 
breeches  and  stockings,  altogether  a  good  train  de  maison. 
The  old  lady  is  frightful — a  Jewess — ^but  a  pleasant,  genial 
manner  and  very  unaffected.  I  sat  between  a  General  and 
a  Marquis.     The  former  had  been  forty  times  in  England  for 

1  Younger  son  of  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  Permanent  Under-Secretary  of 
State  for  Colonies,  1871-92. 


52  THE  LETTERS  OF 

races,  and  could  not  speak  a  word  of  English.  The  men  all 
took  stock  of  me  as  if  I  had  been  a  Zulu,  but  I  was  dressed 
just  like  the  other  women,  so  I  did  not  mind.  The  dinner  was 
good,  but  heavy,  very  like  the  dinners  at  our  Belgian  Palace 
feasts.  Altogether  I  was  much  entertained.  Madame  Heine 
has  given  me  her  opera-box  for  to-morrow  night,  so  Mary 
Henniker  and  I  are  going,  escorted  by  Colonel  Greville,  equerry 
to  the  Duchess  of  Cambridge. 


i8  Whitehall  Place, 
Zoth  October  1879. 

Lady  Our  kind  friends  propose  to  keep  me  till  the  4th  Novem- 

oseey.  -^^^^  when  I  move  to  Fleming's.  They  then  go  themselves 
into  the  country  to  stay  with  the  Baronet.  When  I  look 
at  him  I  am  so  glad  you  are  not  a  Baronet.  He  is  a 
good  creature  but  pompous,  and  his  **  constituents  *'  seems 
always  in  his  mouth.  Dear  Evelyn  came  and  had  a  long  chat 
with  me.  He  says  his  rank  is  not  to  be  confirmed,  ^rs/,  because 
you  were  in  Zululand  (that  I  think  must  be  his  own  fancy, 
for  you  did  not  take  him  there)  ;  secondly,  because  they  can't 
promote  him  and  not  Lord  C.  That  I  should  say  was  the  real 
reason.  They  tried  to  make  him  refuse  the  rank  himself,  by 
saying  he  would  lose  his  money.  To  sell  them,  he  said,  "  All 
right,  I  will  lose  the  money  !  "  But  still  they  wouldn't  give  it. 
They  then  said  they  could  give  him  a  greater  choice  of  appoint- 
ments if  he  remained  a  Colonel.  Finally  they  say  they  will 
give  him  a  Brigadier  appointment,  but  that,  of  course,  won't 
help  him  to  date  as  a  M.  General.  He  said  he  believed  their 
real  reason  is  they  know  you  will  press  for  Colley  being  a  M. 
General,  and  they  long  to  refuse  it  you,  and  could  not  if  they 
had  given  it  to  him. 

I  dine  to-night  with  the  Rawlinsons  to  meet  the  Bouverie 
bride,  Mrs.  Alistair  Campbell.  To-morrow  night  with  the  Card- 
wells  to  meet  the  Biddulphs  only,  as  the  house  is  en  papillote. 

We  have  had  two  dinner-parties  here,  and  Madame  Taglioni 
was  at  one.  She  is  a  charming  and  most  aristocratic  old  lady. 
I  am  going  on  Saturday  to  hear  the  speeches  at  Sir  Evel5m's 
Temple  dinner.  Some  women  think  it  infra  dig.  to  listen  to 
men's  after-dinner  speeches  ! 

Captain  Fitzgeorge  made  himself  very  pleasant  the  other 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  53 

evening,  but  he  says  Lord  G.  will  not  get  his  £500,  as  that 
liberality  is  to  be  done  away  with.  I  said  I  thought  it  should 
have  been  abolished  before  the  eventuality  arose  to  prevent 
disappointment.  I  heard  an  amusing  story  apropos  of  Fitzes. 
A  General  Lord  Something  FitzClarence  was  fond  of  boast- 
ing of  his  descent  and  dragging  it  in  on  all  occasions.  At 
a  dinner-party  his  A.D.C.  was  carving  badly.  His  Lordship 
called  out  before  every  one,  **  My  Royal  father  always  said 
one  proof  of  being  a  gentleman  was  to  carve  well.*'  The 
aggrieved  A.D.C.  replied,  **  And  what  did  your  Royal  mother 
reply  on  that  occasion,  sir  ?  "  and  was  dismissed  the  next  day. 
It  may  be  a  Joe  Miller,  but  it  is  new  to  me. 


Fleming's  Hotel,  i^th  November  1879. 

Last  Friday  I  dined  with  the  young  MacLeods  and  met  Sir  Lady 
Stafford,  who  a  little  depressed  me  by  sajdng  that  although  ^^^^^^^y- 
your  work  might  possibly  be  over  by  middle  of  January,  he 
doubted  whether  it  would  be  wise  to  remove  the  "  pressure  of 
your  hand  "  so  soon.  Sir  S.  spoke  very  nicely  of  you.  Sir 
Francis  Doyle,  a  jolly,  humorous  old  boy,  talked  of  his  son 
as  clever  !  I  said  you  had  told  me  how  deeply  and  constantly 
Captain  D.  studied  The  Soldier's  Pocket-Book.  I  did  not  say 
*'  with  his  mouth  open." 

Saturday  till  Monday  I  spent  at  the  Hollands'  with  Lord 
and  Lady  Onslow,  Mr.  Cross,  Mr.  Welby  (Treasury),  Mr. 
Ronald  Melville  and  Captain  Jekyll,  who  had  been  on  the 
Gold  Coast.  For  a  country  house  party  it  was  better  than 
usual.  Mr.  Cross  appeared  to  share  Sir  Stafford's  views  of 
your  not  hastening  your  return — alas !  but  I  dare  say  you'll 
get  back  in  the  teeth  of  them  all,  won't  you  ?  I  heard 
no  news  except  that  Lord  Derby  had  on  Saturday  taken  his 
name  off  the  Carlton,  which  was  considered  unnecessary,  Mr. 
Gladstone  having  left  his  on  for  years.  Also  that  on  Dizzy 
being  asked  when  he  thought  there  would  be  a  dissolution, 
said,  "  A  year  is  a  long  time  for  a  man  of  my  age  to  look 
forward  to  Office.  It  includes  the  whole  official  life  of  a  Lord 
Mayor." 

I  see  Mr.  Blackwood  is  dead.  You  will  be  sorry.  I  dined 
one  night  with  your  **  pet  aversion."  She  is  not  improved, 
more  manieree,  and  her  face  so  powdered  and  one  palpitator 


54  THE  LETTERS  OF 

cunningly  displayed  by  a  fichu  which  pretended  to  be  put  on 
to  conceal  the  other,  but  t'other  way  was  the  reality. 

To-day  I  had  a  visit  from  Col.  M'Neill :  he  was  his  most 
pleasant  self.  He  tells  me  he  traced  it  to  a  fact  that  one  of 
the  Queen's  Household  is  not  friendly  to  us.  Her  Majesty 
said  to  Col.  M'N.,  "  Don't  you  think  it  a  pity  Sir  G.  was  sent 
outlaying  us  open  to  the  imputation  of  having  only  one  General." 
He  argued  it  out  with  her  that  all  nations  had  one  leading 
soldier  at  a  time.  The  Wood  and  Buller  visit  to  the  Queen  and 
their  championship  of  you  did  you  great  good  and  turned  her 
favour  towards  you.  Sir  E.  she  took  to  immensely,  and  his 
manner  was  a  perfect  success  ;  Colonel  Buller's  good  sense  also 
took  her  fancy.  It  appears  that  Sir  E.  Wood  nearly  lost  his 
A.D.C.ship  by  telling  John  Brown  that  a  friend  of  his  in  Zululand, 
about  whom  he  was  inquiring,  drinks  like  a  fish.  This  Sir  E. 
delivered  at  him  looking  him  straight  in  the  eye.  Luckily  the 
A.D.C.ship  had  been  given  before,  or  Colonel  M'N.  says  E.  cer- 
tainly would  not  have  got  it.  Sir  E.  tells  me,  as  a  secret,  that 
at  the  Queen's  request  he  takes  the  Empress  to  Zululand  in 
February.  Sir  Stafford  told  me  the  other  night  she  was  going, 
but  did  not  say  with  whom. 

I  tell  you  everything  pele-mele  as  it  comes  into  my  mind,  so 
jump  now  to  the  fact  that  all  our  Cyprus  things  are  at  the 
Baker  Street  bazaar. 

Fleming's  Hotel,  /\th  December  1879. 

Lady  Did  I  tell  you  I  travelled  down  to  the  Trevor  Lawrences' 

^  ^^  ^^*  with  Sir  C.  and  Lady  Ellice  ?  He  was  quite  civil  and  conversable ! 
He  had  in  his  dispatch  box  the  Daily  Tel.  article  of  that  day 
(22nd)  from  Billy  Russell,  denouncing  the  British  troops  in 
Zulu  as  being  burglars,  rioters,  etc.  The  Duke,  in  frantic  excite- 
ment over  it,  had  given  it  to  him  to  read  !  I  thought  "  Charlie  " 
meant  it  to  be  a  dig  at  you,  so  I  bowled  it  back  at  him  by  saying, 
"  It  must  concern  you  narrowly,  as  your  chief  office  is  the 
discipline  of  the  Army."  She  never  spoke,  and  never  took  her 
eyes  off  me  and  my  clothes.  Mr.  Corney  Grain  was  staying 
with  the  Lawrences,  and  a  Mr.  Jeune,  who  it  seems  is  the 
rising  barrister  (especially  in  Maconochie  cases)  and  it  is  sup- 
posed will  attain  the  Woolsack. 

Newton  has  sent  me  two  volumes  of  Eastern  Travel.  I 
have  invited  him  to  a  friendly  "crumpet." 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  55 

Fleming's  Hotel,  4th  December  1879. 

You  will  be  amused  to  hear  that  I  have  been  undergoing  a  Lady 
course  of  professional  beauties.  I  went  to  the  Millais  wedding  ^oiseUy. 
with  Lady  West  bury.  Of  course  the  beauties  were  there. 
Mrs.  Langtry  in  a  red  gown  like  a  pillar-box  (spite  and  envy, 
you  will  say).  Mrs.  Wheeler  is  quite  lovely  and  Lady  Walter 
Campbell's  face  is  quite  beautiful,  classical,  distinguished,  and 
with  great  calmness  and  repose  in  it.  The  Russian  Ambassador 
and  the  Spanish  Minister  are  two  worshippers,  but  she  is  a 
very  devoted  wife.  Now  I  must  leave  the  Millais  affair  and 
tell  you  how  R.  S.  let  me  in  last  Sunday,  and  how  angry 
I  am  still  about  it.  I  met  him  on  Sunday  morning,  and  after 
preliminaries,  he  said,  *'  What  are  you  doing  this  evening  ?  " 
I  said,  *'  Nothing."  Can  you  fancy  a  woman  of  my  age  being 
such  a  donkey  as  not  to  guess  he  was  going  to  ask  me  to  dinner  ? 
He  said,  "  Come  and  dine  to-night,  will  you  not  ?  You  will  meet 
Mrs.  L."  I  couldn't  say  I  was  engaged,  and  remembering 
that  our  civilities  to  them  had  been  scant,  and  that  he  evidently 
wanted  a  woman  to  make  up  a  party,  I  thought  I  would  oblige 
him  by  accepting.  Accordingly  I  went.  Mrs.  L.  and  I  were 
the  only  women,  and  there  were  two  men.  The  dullest  of  dull 
evenings,  and  I  feeling  the  whole  time  that  I  had  been  entrapped 
to  give  the  lady  a  "  countenance."  She  and  our  host  sat  behind 
my  back  after  dinner  and  whispered,  and  she  made  him  turn 
out  all  the  gas  so  that  we  sat  almost  in  the  dark  by  the  glimmer 
of  the  firelight  and  one  lamp.  Why  the  dickens  did  they  not 
ask  a  woman  who  might  have  carried  on  with  one  of  the  other 
young  men?  I  Jumped  up  the  instant  the  brougham  was 
announced,  and  beat  a  retreat,  but  I  thought  10.30  would 
never  come. 

I  hear  that  the  Emperor  of  Russia  is  to  marry  a  Mile 
Dolgorouki  if  the  Empress  dies.  Alfred  Austin  has  written 
a  comedy  which  all  managers  praise,  but  won't  put  on  the 
stage  !  !  I  am  to  read  it,  but  it  is  a  secret,  not  being  yet 
published.  The  Woo^s  and  Chelmsfortis  (wives  included)  were 
to  have  dined  and  slept  at  Windsor  this  week,  but  the  Queen 
has  been  ill  and  it  has  been  indefinitely  postponed  in  consequence. 

The  money  left  to  Sir  H.  Havelock's  son  is  tied  up  so  that 
not  a  penny  can  be'  spent,  except  on  improvements  to  the 
estate,  for  twenty-one  years. 


56  THE  LETTERS  OF 

24th  December  1879. 

Lady  I  have  just  heard  that  the  post  is  made  up  to-day  for  the 

Woiseiey.  q^^^^  to-morrow  being  Christmas  Day.  I  had  intended  writing 
you  a  long  letter  this  evening,  and  instead  here  I  am  scrambling 
you  off  a  few  hurried  lines  to  tell  you  I  am  proud  of  your  coup, 
the  news  of  which  reached  us  on  Monday,  and  hope  you  will 
now  be  back  very  soon. 

"  By  her  who  in  this  month  is  born 
No  gem  save  Garnet  shall  be  worn ; 
They  will  ensure  her  constancy, 
True  friendship  and  fidelity." 

This  was  in  that  little  book  for  January.     Most  appropriate 
to  me, 

Fleming's,  2^th  January  1880. 

Lady  This  week  a  multitude  of  counsellors  in  your  affairs.     Dear 

Woiseiey.  gyelyn  wires  to  you  to  come  to  some  understanding  with  old 
Beac.  about  India  being  really  yours,  when  it  falls  due,  before 
you  consented  to  remain  in  Natal  any  longer.  His  idea  is  that  the 
Horse  Guards  clique  are  delighted  about  your  detention,  because 
the  Duke  hopes  that  Sir  Frederick  Haines  may  chuck  up  or 
have  to  be  recalled  before  you  get  back  to  England,  and  that 
would  be  an  excuse  for  putting  in  another  man.  I  think  this 
is  only  a  scare  of  Evelyn's.  The  Empress,  with  the  Woods, 
Mrs.  Ronald  Campbell,  the  Marquis  de  Bassano,  and  little 
Mr.  Bigge,!  who  is  a  good  singer  as  well  as  a  good  soldier,  start 
for  Natal  on  Good  Friday,  28th  March;  They  will  be  absent, 
voyages  included,  four  months.  She  retains  her  ship,  and  it 
takes  them  direct  to  Natal — ^not  changing  vessels  at  the  Cape — 
and  brings  her  home  again.  This  is  to  cost  her  £700,  and  the 
native  cost  of  the  journey  is  estimated  at  £2000.  Poor  woman, 
a  sad  way  of  spending  it. 

I  had  a  windy,  watery  letter  from  Lady  F.  congratulat- 
ing on  Sekukuni's  capture. 

Fleming's  Hotel,  ^th  February  1880. 
Lady  Here   is    the  opening  of   Parliament.     I  should  like  you 

Woiseiey.  ^^   y^^   present,   and   the   Queen   to  announce  in  her  speech 
that  you  are  to  be  Viscount  Cannock,  with  a  modest  pension 
*  Afterwards  first  Lord  Stamfordham. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  57 

of  £3000  a  year.  Lord  Airey  brought  me  your  last  letter 
to  him  to  read,  and  we  had  a  long  chat  over  it.  Like 
every  one  else,  he  is  most  anxious  you  should  reconcile 
yourself  to  staying  where  you  are  for  the  present.  I  quite  made 
him  understand  the  situation  that  if  you  had  occupation  you 
would  willingly  stay,  but  that  it  is  hard  to  stay  doing  nothing. 
However,  he  thinks  it  best  to  stay  even  doing  nothing,  as 
your  hasty  return  would  make  you  so  unpopular  with  the 
Ministers. 

Last  night  I  went  to  an  Admiralty  party — a  dull  and  ugly 
affair,  the  fog  being  dense,  and  preventing  people  coming.  Mr. 
Smith  was  very  nice  and  cordial  to  me,  but  firm  about  the 
necessity  of  st ajdng  out .  It  is  so  inadvisable  to  have  a  grievance, 
and  my  grievance  would  have  so  little  effect  on  their  allow- 
ing you  to  return  that  I  said,  though  personally  anxious  to 
be  at  home,  what  you  had  most  at  heart  was  the  public  service, 
and  you  would  not  wish  to  leave  unless  you  thought  your  stay 
useless.  He  said  you  had  a  great  deal  of  civil  work  to  carry  out 
yet  !  Harry  Northcote  ^  told  me  I  must  not  expect  to  see  you 
before  the  end  of  May  !  How  will  this  fit  in  with  your  being 
made  Q.M.G.,  as  Lysons  replaces  Steele  the  middle  of  April  ? 


Fleming's  Hotel,  12th  February  1880. 

Mr.  Stephen  paid  me  a  visit  yesterday,  and  I  read  him  out  Lady 
portions  of  your  last  letter,  in  which  you  set  forth  the  utter  ^°^^^^^' 
idleness  of  your  present  exile  ;  but,  while  agreeing  that  it  was  a 
great  trial  for  you,  he  said  it  was  necessary,  as  the  British  public 
would  otherwise  get  up  a  cry  that  you  were  returning  without 
finishing  your  task,  and  that  would  be  prejudicial  not  only  to 
you  but  to  the  Ministry.  He  thinks  the  Government  will  take 
advantage  of  the  impression  produced  by  the  Liverpool  election, 
and  that  a  dissolution  will  soon  take  place,  also  it  is  necessary 
that  the  obstruction  to  business  of  the  Home  Rulers  should 
be  put  a  stop  to,  and  they  have  made  themselves  lately  so 
obnoxious  even  to  their  own  side  that  they  have  played 
into  the  hands  of  the  Government.  He,  Mr.  S.,  thinks  the 
Conservatives  are  sure  to  come  in  again,  but — oh  dear  !  one 
never  knows. 

I  send  by  this  mail  a  Quarterly,  with  an  article  by  Alfred 
*  Second  son  of  first  Earl  of  Iddesleigh ;  created  Lord  Northcote. 


58 


THE  LETTERS  OF 


Austin,  called  the  "Credentials  of  the  Opposition."  He  says 
Lord  B.  praised  it  most  highly,  and  as  he  patronisingly  said — 
"  wrote  very  prettily  to  me  about  it."  I  thought  that  so  con- 
ceited that  I  gave  him  a  snub  by  return  of  post.  I  said  I  thought 
the  praise  prettily  conveyed  might  suit  Violet  Fane's  poems, 
but  that  Lord  B.  had  underrated  his  production  if  he  afforded 
it  only  such  a  measure  of  praise. 

You  will  be  interested  to  hear  I  have  struck  up  an  acquaint- 
ance with  Sir  C.  Dilke  !  I  met  him  at  dinner  at  the  Lawrences', 
and  liked  him.  He  did  not  attack  me  about  your  Cetewayo 
man  hunt.  I  have  invited  his  little  boy  to  come  and  play  with 
F.,  and  Sir  C.  "  wishes  to  come  and  play  too."  I  hope  we  shall 
not  drink  in  Radical  principles. 


Lady 

Wolselev. 


Fleming's  Hotel,  26th  February  1880. 

On  Friday,  at  Lady  Margaret  Beaumont's,  Sir  C.  Ellice  told 
me  that  you  had  sent  a  settling  answer  to  Billy's  accusations. 
but  he  said  he  (Sir  C.)  wished  you  had  sent  it  to  him  instead 
of  to  Colonel  Stanley.  I  have  no  doubt  you  did  what  was 
wisest.  Old  Solvyns  came  and  talked  to  me  about  the 
tender  recollection  their  Belgian  Majesties  still  have  of  us. 
You  will  be  sorry  to  hear  poor  Sir  Frederick  and  Lady 
EUiot  died  last  week  at  Cairo  of  fever,  within  a  few  days  of 
one  another. 

Gordon  Ives  is  marrying  a  very  pretty  Miss  Pulleyne,  one  of 
two  attractive  sisters.  The  Empress  has  seen  Lady  Wood  and 
given  her  several  presents  of  dresses  suitable  for  the  Journey. 
The  Woods  are  basking  in  the  sunshine  !  Lady  W.  went  to 
last  week's  Drawing-Room,  where  all  the  Royalties  shook  hands 
with  her,  and  the  Queen  smiled  and  shook  hands  with  her  after 
she  had  kissed  her  hand  !  Sir  E.  has  twice  been  asked  to  dine 
with  the  Duke,  and  last  week  at  Marlborough  House. 


Lady 
Wolseley. 


Fleming's  Hotel,  11th  March  1880. 

Two  days  ago  I  was  quite  inspirited  by  your  telegram  saying 
you  accepted  the  Q.M. Generalship,  because  I  know  that  is 
vacant  on  the  ist  of  May,  and  I  hoped  your  acceptance  put  a 
date  to  your  return.  Now  I  find,  by  your  telegram  to-day, 
you  are  put  off  again  till  the  ist  of  July  !    Captain  Maurice 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


59 


has  just  been  here  and  says  he  knows  privately  that  Sir 
Bartle  has  been  able  during  the  last  few  days  to  send  home 
such  a  promising  scheme  for  Confederation  that  Sir  G.  C. 
may  not  go  out  to  Natal  after  all,  but  that  it  (Natal)  will  be 
under  Sir  Bartle. 

I  had  a  nice  visit  from  Lady  Burdett-Coutts,  who  thanked 
me  profusely  for  Cetewayo's  tooth.  I  did  not  undeceive  her, 
for  a  Lion's  claw  would  have  seemed  nothing  by  comparison. 

People  are  already  asking  if  I  can  make  dinner  engagements 
for  you  ahead.  Mr.  Vincent  wants  you  to  meet  Duke  of  Teck, 
Cardinal  Manning,  and  an  illustrious  fourth. 

12th  May  1880. 

I  have  seen  Lord  Card  well,  who  said  that,  had  the  late  i^^y 
Government  remained  in,  Sir  Charles  Ellice  would  probably  Woiseiey, 
have  got  India  ;  but  the  present  political  party  would  think 
otherwise.  He  seemed  to  think  it  a  great  advantage  Sir  John 
Adye  is  to  be  General  of  the  Ordnance.  He  made  no  comment 
on  the  ■  Childers  appointment,  but  spoke  of  the  Government's 
possible  wish  to  appear  to  represent  military  interests  in  the 
Upper  House. 

Fancy  George  Eliot  having  married  again  within  a  year  of 
Mr.  Lewes 's  death  I  I  remember  being  told  then  that  her  grief 
was  so  great  that  her  screams  were  heard  in  the  next  street. 


PlETERMARITZBURG,    NATAL, 

iSth  February  1880. 

A  mail  via  Zanzibar  leaves  this  for  England  to-day,  so 
although  I  wrote  to  you  two  days  ago  by  the  ordinary  post, 
I  do  not  hke  to  let  any  opportunity  pass  of  sending  you  a  line 
without  availing  myself  of  it.  Our  dinner-party  on  Monday 
evening  was  a  rummy-tummy  affair,  as  it  poured  with  rain  when 
the  people  were  due,  and  consequently  some  did  not  come  at 
all,  others  arrived  in  the  middle  and  towards  the  end  of  dinner, 
whilst  some  who  did  put  in  an  appearance  were  more  like 
drowned  rats  than  Christian  diners-out.  There  was  an  Irish- 
woman with  remarkably  good  eyes  and  a  very  fetching  figure 
whom  I  took  in  to  dinner  and  who  made  eyes,  even  at  me,  in 
a  most  languishing  manner.     Her  husband  is  a  little  insignificant - 


Lord 
Wolseley. 


6o    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

looking  squireen,  who  has  come  here  to  see  if  it  would  suit 
him  to  settle.  She  made  love  to  me  in  quite  a  pleasant  manner, 
but  I  remembered  that  I  was  bom  in  1833,  a  fact  that  is  always 
before  me  when  handsome  women  are  anxious  to  be  kind. 
Since  I  wrote  to  you  on  Monday  this  infernal  cable  has  parted, 
and  Heaven  knows  when  we  may  again  be  in  telegraphic  com- 
munication with  Downing  Street. 

Maritzburg,  Sunday,  iSth  April  1880. 

Lord  I  was  very  glad  to  see  your  name  in  the  Times  as  having 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^  ^^^i  the  Stanhopes,  and  to  find  from  your  letter,  received 
by  the  last  post,  that  you  enjoyed  your  party  there  very  much. 
Since  then,  my  dear,  what  a  bouleversement  of  all  one's  plans 
and  views  and  ideas  is  caused  by  the  elections  and  their  result. 
Was  there  ever  such  a  collapse  as  this  of  the  Conservatives,  so 
unexpected  and  so  complete — far  greater  even  than  Gladstone's 
in  1874  ?  As  there  was  to  be  a  change  of  Government,  I  am  at 
least  delighted  to  find  that  the  new  lot  came  in  with  a  large 
majority  entirely  independent  of  the  Irish  vote.  From  a 
personal  point  of  view,  of  course,  these  professors  who  are  now 
coming  into  office  are  less  disposed  to  fight  than  the  Tory  party, 
and  therefore  I  am  not  so  likely  to  have  a  command  in  the  field 
under  Gladstone  and  Granville  as  I  was  under  Dizzy  and 
Salisbury  ;  but  the  latter  shrank  from  Army  Reform  as  it  was 
unpopular  in  aristocratic  circles,  whereas  the  Liberals  will 
probably  again  take  it  up,  and  if  they  do,  will  look  to  me  for 
advice. 

f 


i88o-i882 

[Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  returned  from  South  Africa  in  July 
1880,  and  with  a  very  brief  interval  for  leave  took  up  the 
duties  of  Quartermaster-General.  For  nearly  two  years  he  was 
very  rarely  separated  from  Lady  Wolseley,  and  their  letters 
were  very  few,  except  on  the  occasion  of  Sir  Garnet  attending 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge  to  German  manoeuvres  and  Berlin.] 


CHAPTER  VI 

Hotel  de  l'Europe,  Dusseldorf, 
Tuesday,  yth  September  1880. 

We  intend  sleeping  here  to-night  and  going  on  to  Berlin  in      Lord 
the  morning.     There  is  an  "  Exposition  Industrielle  "  going  on      °  ^^v- 
here,  so  when  we  have  dined  at  1.30  p.m.  I  intend  having  a  look 
at  it.     I  wish  you  were  here  with  me  to  see  it,  as  I  have  no  real 
enjoyment  in  life  when  separated  from  you. 


Berlin,  Friday,  10th  September  1880. 

Yesterday  I  dined  with  the  Emperor  ;  we  English  were  the      Lord 

only  foreigners  who  did  so,  and  the  reason  was  because  the  ^^  ^'^^' 

Duke  of  Cambridge  was  the  guest  of  honour.     As  at  Brussels, 

we  were  all  drawn  up  in  two  lines  in  the  ante-chamber,  and  the 

Emperor  and  Empress  made  a  tour  round  us.     She  is  certainly 

the  most  forbidding-looking  mortal  I  have  ever  laid  eyes  on  ; 

she  is  old,  with  a  skin  something  of  the  colour  of  mustard.     She 

is  scraggy  and  was  very  decolletee,  with  her  face  covered  with 

powder,  and  a  pair  of  painted  eyebrows  !     She  wore  a  tiara,  or 

rather  a  stiff  band  of  diamonds  and  emeralds,  round  her  hair, 

in  which — ^the  chevelure — ^there  was  no  sign  of  grey,  and  her  neck 

was  covered  with  strings  of  large  pearls  and  uncut  emeralds  of 

great  size.     She  is  said  to  be  very  clever,  and  in  former  times 

61 


62  THElLETTERS  OF 

had  a  great  contempt  for  her  husband  ;  after  she  had  had,  I 
beUeve,  two  children,  she  decided  upon  not  sleeping  any  more 
with  her  spouse,  and  the  result  was  that  he  had  a  number  of 
little  affairs,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  un  homme  galant. 
Now  that  he  has  become  a  great  Emperor  they  are  supposed  to 
be  a  devoted  couple.  Hideous  though  she  be,  she  certainly 
has  the  ability  to  make  herself  very  agreeable  and  to  say  the 
right  thing,  for  I  never  had  such  compliments  paid  to  me  by 
any  one  else.  She  was  about  to  pass  me,  having  said  in  very 
good  English  how  deUghted  she  was  to  see  so  many  English 
officers,  when  my  name  caught  her  ear,  and  she  paused  in  a 
theatrical  manner  and  heaped  compliments  upon  compUments 
on  my  head,  until  I  felt  my  hair  stand  on  end.  She  seemed 
somehow  to  attach  more  importance  to  my  services  than  our 
own  Queen  does.  The  Emperor,  who  only  speaks  French,  was 
also  most  gracious,  and  talked  to  me  of  Chelmsford's  disastrous 
campaign,  and  the  Crown  Prince  was  amiability  itself  ;  he  is 
so  like  the  very  best  stamp  of  EngUshman  in  manners — a  royal 
Sir  James  Lindsay  ! — I  can  say  nothing  higher  in  any  man's 
praise.  I  was  the  only  person  with  whom  he  "  drank  wine  ''  at 
dinner,  and  there  were  about  thirty-four  there.  Somehow  the 
Duke  seems  to  have  a  kinder  feeling  for  me,  seeing  how  well  I 
am  treated  here. 


The  Kaiserhof,  Berlin, 
11th  September  1880. 

'  Lord  It  is  now  nearly  time  to  dress  for  5  o'clock  dinner  with  the 

Woiseiey.  Emperor.  Last  night  all  the  foreign  officers  and  most  of  the 
Generals  of  Germany  who  belong  to  this  part  of  Prussia  dined 
at  the  Old  Palace  with  the  Emperor.  We  sat  down  to  dinner 
some  150  at  least  (I  should  say  175) — ^all  sorts  of  Royalties  there. 
The  Crown  Princess  was  very  gracious.  I  saw  her  again  to-day, 
and  she  looked  so  bright  and  well.  After  dinner  yesterday,  we 
were  taken  to  the  Opera  House,  where  there  was  the  dullest 
and  ugliest  ballet  I  ever  saw.  I  was  bored  beyond  measure, 
but  no  one  could  leave  until  the  Emperor  left.  He  is  wonderful 
for  his  eighty-four  years.  After  the  ballet  I  went  to  Lady 
Walsham's — she  is  the  wife  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Embassy — 
where  I  found  Lord  and  Lady  Tenterden.  Every  one  asked  me 
where  you  were  and  had  expected  you  to  come  with  me. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  63 

The  Kaiserhof,  Berlin, 
Monday,  i^th  September  1880. 

I  am  jabbering  away  at  French  all  day,  to  my  shame.  You  Lord 
really  might  teach  me  to  speak  ;  you  could  do  so  simply  by  ^°^^^^- 
giving  yourself  the  trouble  to  speak  to  me  in  French  constantly: 
it  would  be  the  making  of  me.  I  was  astonished  to-day,  when 
riding  with  Lord  Dufferin  at  the  great  review  of  the  Guard 
Corps,  to  find  he  expressed  himself  in  French  with  considerable 
dififtculty,  and  I  am  told  he  cannot  speak  a  word  of  German  ; 
yet  he  is  an  ambassador!  He  left  this  afternoon  for 
England. 

I  have  just  come  back  from  another  great  dinner  with  the 
Emperor.  I  believe — and  hope — ^it  is  the  last  of  the ' '  banquets. " 
The  King  and  Queen  of  Greece  arrived  here  last  night  ;  they 
sat  nearly  opposite  to  me  this  evening.  T.R.H.  the  Christians 
also  arrived  yesterday  ;  she  sat  on  the  immediate  left  of  the 
Emperor.  I  had  a  long  audience  of  H.R.H.  of  Cambridge  this 
afternoon,  having  some  business  papers  to  show  him  :  as  a 
secret  I  may  tell  you  he  is  extremely  exercised  in  his  mind 
about  an  offer  made  to  him  by  the  Emperor  that  he  should  be 
given  a  Regiment  in  this  army.  He  asked  me  my  opinion,  and 
I  told  him  I  hoped  he  would  be  able  to  find  a  way  to  refuse  it  : 
he  has  telegraphed  to  the  Queen  and  is  in  hopes  that  she  may 
say  he  cannot  accept,  as  she  would  not  allow  the  Prince  of  Wales 
to  take  one.  The  Duke  is  afraid  his  mother  will  be  very  angry 
with  him  if  he  accepts,  as  she  detests  these  Prussians.  I  told 
him  that,  in  my  opinion,  they  had  behaved  so  disgracefully 
about  Hanover  that  the  English  should  never  forgive  him. 
I  have  always  felt  this,  for  although  I  am  no  courtier,  I  stand 
by  the  rights  of  our  Royal  Family,  and  regard  any  insult  to  them 
as  one  offered  to  us  as  a  nation.  Indeed,  I  have  long  hoped 
that  the  day  might  come  when,  as  a  people,  we  should  be  able 
to  pay  Mister  Bismarck  off  in  his  own  coin  for  the  way  he  dared 
to  insult  England  in  this  Hanoverian  matter. 


The  Kaiserhof,  Berlin, 

17/9/80. 

I  am  leaving  Wardrop  at  Cologne  to  visit  the  Cavalry      Lord 
manoeuvres.    To-night    I   dine   with   the   Bunsens — Bunsen's  ^^^^^V' 


64  THE  LETTERS  OF 

father  was  minister  in  England  for  several  years.  Old  Hough- 
ton is  staying  with  them.  Paul  Methuen,  who  is  the  very  able 
military  attache  here,  is  such  a  nice  fellow  and  cannot  really 
do  too  much  for  one  ;  only  he  "  spoils  the  market  "  by  saying, 
"  Oh,  how  pretty  !  "  when  he  goes  to  curiosity  shops  with  me, 
and  I  want  to  tell  the  dealers  their  prices  are  too  high.  The 
Princess  Royal  rode  to-day,  her  horse  caparisoned  with  a  saddle- 
cloth and  all  the  trappings  of  her  Hussar  Regiment.  The  Duke 
of  Cambridge  now  tells  me  the  Queen  has  refused  to  allow  him 
to  accept  a  Regiment,  but  the  Emperor  has  to-day  sent  him  his 
own  private  family  Order. 


The  Lord  Warden  Hotel, 
Dover,  4/10/80. 

Lord  We  have  had  a  detestable  day  of  it,  and  I  am  in  misery  as  I 

Woiseiey.  -^rite  now.  To  begin  with  the  present  :  having  arrived  here 
wet  and  cold,  I  was  shown  into  a  desolate-looking  bedroom  that 
had  not  even  a  writing-table.  I  told  the  housemaid  to  light  the 
fire  ;  she  did  so  and  the  result  was  that  in  a  minute  or  so  my 
room  was  full  of  smoke,  and  I  had  first  to  open  the  window, 
then  the  door,  and  at  last  to  go  out  into  the  passage  until  the 
infernal  fire  could  be  extinguished.  There  was  no  poker  or 
other  fire-irons,  one  bedroom  candlestick  with  about  two  and  a 
half  inches  of  candle  in  it,  and  one  china  candlestick  with  the 
same  amount  of  burning  material,  both  candles  being  as  thin  as 
tapers. 

Well,  to  begin  with,  it  rained  on  us  during  the  infernal 
review,  and  we  reached  dear  Evelyn  s  house  with  our  feathers 
rather  ruffled.  Oh,  such  a  house  !  !  .  .  .  Lady  Wood  received 
H.R.H.,  and  then  disappeared,  a  large  party  going  in  to  lunch. 
Oh,  such  a  lunch  !  !  !  I  thought  of  my  whippersnapper  as  I 
shuddered  at  its  appearance.  We  had  pork  cutlets,  and  inter 
alia  large  dishes  of  cauliflowers  with  no  butter  on  them,  sweet 
champagne,  and  filth  of  every  description.  A  lot  of  noisy  servants 
who  rattled  the  plates  and  knives  until  at  last  I  thought  I  was 
in  a  railway  refreshment  room,  and  we  were  all  eating  the  usual 
railway  fare  at  the  usual  waiting-room  pace.  Dear  Evelyn, 
perfectly  contented  with  everything,  not  hearing  the  noise  and 
quite  indifferent  himself  to  what  he  ate  or  drank. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  65 

It  is  blowing  like  the  devil  and  we  are  sure  to  have  a  wet 
day  to-morrow  ;  tliis  is  the  equinox,  I  presume — a  nice  time  for 
their  foolish  inspections. 


Morton  Hall,  Liberton,  N.B., 
Wednesday. 

I  hope  the  enclosed  will  meet  with  your  approval :  I  wish  I     Lord 
had  had  you  by  me  to  help  me  with  the  composition.  Woiseiey, 


Copy. 

24th  August  1 88 1. 

My  dear  Mr.  Gladstone, — Pray  accept  my  best  thanks 
for  the  cheque,  which  I  have  sent  to  the  Princess  Edward  at 
Portsmouth,  to  be  used  by  her  for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers' 
families  now  there  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  regiments  from 
the  Transvaal. 

I  am  sincerely  grateful  for  the  kind  promise  contained  in 
your  letter  :  on  national  grounds  I  deeply  deplore  that  the 
present  state  of  Ireland  should  cause  you  so  much  anxiety, 
whilst  for  personal  reasons — and  it  would  not  be  insincere  on 
my  part  were  I  to  attempt  to  conceal  the  fact — I  regret  extremely 
that  it  should  be  the  cause  of  postponing  the  honour  for 
which  you  wish  to  recommend  me. 


23r^  August  1 88 1. 

Dear  Mr.  Childers, — I  had  a  note  from  Mr.  Gladstone 
yesterday  evening,  in  which  he  tells  me  that  he  finds  it  necessary 
to  postpone  making  me  a  peer  for  the  present,  but  that  hi 
promise  on  the  subject  still  holds  good. 

When  Sir  H.  Ponsonby,  by  order  of  the  Queen,  spoke  to  me 
on  the  subject,  he  said  that  H.M.'s  only  objection  to  my  being 
made  a  peer  was  my  holding  the  position  of  Q.M.G.  If  I 
were  not  Q.M.G.,  she  would  have  no  objection  whatever. 
I  hope  you  will  pardon  me  for  suggesting  that  I  should  be 
given  some  other  military  employment.  The  post  I  now 
5 


66  THE  LETTERS  OF 

hold  is  a  sinecure.  When  the  functions  allotted  to  the 
Q.M.G.  were  taken  from  him  in  1871-72,  the  post  itself  was 
retained  merely  as  a  concession  to  the  wishes  of  the  Duke — a 
point  upon  which,  I  think.  Lord  Northbrook  can  give  you  the 
fullest  information.  I  have  long  felt  that  I  occupy  an  anomalous 
position  at  Army  Headquarters,  and  I  know  that  were  my 
post  abolished  things  would  go  much  more  smoothly  than 
at  present,  for  I  am  certainly  a  fifth  wheel  to  the  mihtary 
coach.  Holding  the  Liberal  views  that  I  do,  I  can  do  very 
little  good  under  an  Adjt. -General  of  the  Duke's  selection,  and 
if  my  office  were  abolished,  a  considerable  saving  would  be 
effected. 

Lord  Napier's  time  at  Gibraltar  will  be  up  very  shortly, 
and  if  you  thought  me  worthy  to  succeed  him,  I  should  be  very 
glad  indeed  under  present  circumstances  to  exchange  my  position 
as  Q.M.G.  for  that  of  Governor  of  that  place.  In  that  position, 
from  what  Sir  H.  Ponsonby  told  me,  I  am  sure  the  Queen  would 
withdraw  all  her  opposition  to  my  being  made  a  peer,  and  I 
could  then  take  part  in  Army  discussion  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
as  Lord  Napier  has  been  in  the  habit  of  doing.  Indeed,  I  feel 
that  I  should  then  be  a  much  freer  man  and  better  able  to  help 
you  than  I  should  ever  be  as  a  peer  occupying  my  present 
position  as  Q.M.G. 

Please  forgive  this  long  letter,  and  beHeve  me,  etc., 

G.  W. 


Hull,  2gth  August  1881, 

Lord  A  long  tedious  journey  of  five  hours,  and  then  this  dirty 

0  se  ey.  ^^^^  ^j  Hull.  I  took  a  running  look  over  it  for  half  an  hour, 
but  was  driven  in  by  the  rain.  The  place  looks  as  if  rain 
never  ceased,  though  with  no  cleansing  properties.  I  have 
already  flattened  my  nose  against  the  window  of  a  curiosity 
shop,  but  I  saw  nothing  promising  within. 

Lord  H.  talked  grandly  of  going  down  to  shoot  somewhere — 
I  forget  now  where — ^but  in  his  get  up  he  was  smarter  than  ever. 
This  is  the  man  who  is  being  supported  by  his  friends,  and  who, 
according  to  report,  condescends  to  borrow  five-pound  notes 
from  a  poor  brother  of  his.  To  some  men  ruin  seems  to  bring 
a  renewed  term  of  flashing  existence. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  67 

Hartlepool, 

Friday  Morning,  2nd  September  1881. 

I  never  travelled  through  an  ugUer  part  of  England  than  Lord 
that  we  have  visited  for  the  last  two  days,  and  the  towns  and  ^°^^*y- 
villages  are  the  most  vulgar-looking,  uninteresting  places  I  have 
ever  seen  in  this  country.  I  could  not  have  imagined  that 
the  United  Kingdom  possessed  such  unredeemingly  hideous 
houses  and  streets  as  those  of  Hartlepool,  Hull,  etc.  The  old 
churches  are,  however,  very  beautiful,  showing  us  that  whilst 
the  modems  of  the  present  day  are  vulgar-minded  in  their 
tastes,  and  devoid  of  all  love  of  beauty,  their  forefathers  knew 
how  to  build  lovely  places  of  worship.  Even  here  in  this  most 
hideous  of  towns  there  is  a  charming  old  church  which  would 
please  you  very  much.  We  are  now  just  off  for  Sunderland, 
one  of  the  filthiest  towns,  I  believe,  in  England,  and  to-morrow 
we  go  on  to  Newcastle,  where  we  shall  stay  over  Sunday  to 
discuss  what  we  have  seen,  and  to  visit  Durham  Cathedral. 

Edinburgh,  Monday,  ^th  September. 

We  arrived  here  this  morning,  and  go  on  to  Glasgow  to-  Lord 
morrow  ;  I  do  all  I  can  to  hurry  my  fellow-Committee  men  ^^^^^^y- 
forward,  but  to  no  purpose  :  the  two  Admirals  are  dawdlers, 
who  like  to  see  every  point,  and  to  talk  over  every  Uttle  question 
for  hours  if  not  for  days.  If  I  had  had  my  way  I  should  have 
left  to-night ;  had  I  been  alone,  I  could  have  done  everything 
that  has  been  done  by  a  travelling  committee,  and  saved  public 
expense. 

Government  House,  Portsmouth, 
Sunday  Evening,  gth  April  1882. 

I  have  been  out  for  a  drive  this  afternoon  with  Princess  ^^^^^, 
Edward,  and  have  now  just  come  back  from  a  smart  walk  of  °  ^^  ^^* 
nearly  two  hours — ^thank  Heaven,  by  myself.  Last  night,  after 
dinner,  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  a  large  party  went  off  to  a 
smoking  concert ;  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  did  not  go,  so  I  stayed 
at  home  and  we  smoked  in  solemn  silence.  The  place  is  full  of 
people  and  volunteers  ;  great  triumphal  arches  in  the  streets, 
and  flags  from  every  house ;  crowds  of  people  waiting  outside 
the  door  to  see  the  distinguished  people  go  in  and  out.  There 
is  no  lack  of  exuberance,  but  perhaps  Jumbo  or  Cetewayo  would 


68    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

attract  as  much  attention.  Our  weather  is  lovely,  nothing 
could  be  finer.  The  Duke  is  not  at  all  well,  and  is  very  anxious 
about  a  friend  who  has  the  measles  internally  or  somewhere. 

A  reigning  beauty  here  lunched  with  us  to-day,  and  sat  next 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  into  whose  face  she  looked  every  moment, 
with  what  she  evidently,  but  erroneously,  thought  was  an  irre- 
sistible smile. 


1 882 

[In  1882  a  rebellion  broke  out  in  Egypt  against  the  Khedive 
Tewfik,  the  ringleader,  Arabi  Pasha,  claiming  to  represent 
a  Nationalist  movement.  The  necessity  of  suppressing  this 
outbreak  acted  as  a  solvent  of  the  Anglo-French  "  Condo- 
minium "  in  Egypt,  France  hesitating  to  intervene  effectively, 
and  England  deeming  the  crushing  of  the  revolt  an  absolute 
necessity  for  the  security  of  her  high  road  to  India.  From  that 
moment  the  establishment  of  British  supremacy  in  Egypt  be- 
came inevitable. 

The  setting  up  of  Arabi's  dictatorship  and  the  mutiny  and 
massacre  at  Alexandria  were  followed  within  a  month  by  the 
British  Fleet's  bombardment  of  the  city  and  the  landing  of  a  nth  July. 
naval  force.  Three  days  later,  Sir  Archibald  Alison  brought 
a  contingent  of  British  troops  from  Malta  and  Gibraltar  to 
await  the  arrival  of  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley,^  who  on  3rd  July  was 
appointed  to  take  supreme  command  of  the  expedition. 

The  Commander-in-Chief  elect  caught  a  severe  chill  when 
paying  a  farewell  visit  to  the  Sovereign  at  Osborne.  He  was 
seriously  indisposed  for  some  days,  and  was  eventually  only 
permitted  by  his  medical  advisers  to  assume  command  in  the 
field  if  he  wohld  proceed  to  Egypt  by  long  sea  route.] 


CHAPTER   VII 

On  Board  the  "Calabria," 
Wednesday,  2/8/82. 

I  am  safely  here,  my  dear  little  wife,  after  a  drive  and  a  ^Lord 
temperature  that  rivalled  that  of  the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  ^oisdey. 
My  cabin  is  sumptuous,  and  I  was  in  it  from  the  brougham  in 
a  skip  and  a  jump.  This  is  a  splendid  ship,  full  of  Life  Guards- 
men— ^what  a  valuable  cargo  !  I  have  tried  not  to  think  of  you, 
as  my  eyes  fill  unpleasantly  when  I  do  so — you  are  such  a  plucky 
little  woman,  far  more  so  than  I  am  as  a  man.     Give  Frances  a 

*  Sir  Garnet  was  appointed  A.G.  in  April  1 882. 
69 


70  THE  LETTERS  OF 

kiss  for  me,  and  tell  her  she  must  have  her  pony  even  if  Arabi  s 
nose  escapes  my  pruning-knife. 

On  Board  the  "Calabria," 

Wednesday  Evening,  2/8/82. 

Lord  There  is  a  still  mightier  pill  on  board  than  the  "  Field- 

Woiseiey,  ]yja.rshal/'  to  whom  I  have  unbosomed,  or  rather  unbowelled, 
myself  for  his  inspection.  He  has  a  red  face,  is  fat,  his 
uniform  seemed  tight  and  to  oppress  him  in  this  hot 
weather,  he  smelt  strongly  of  a  pipe,  but  is  very  efficient. 
He  says  I  must  now  live  well,  as  I  have  no  more  fever, 
and  I  was  really  very  hungry  at  half-past  five,  when  Henry 
announced  my  dinner  ready.  I  ate — ^not  tasted,  as  I  have 
hitherto  done — a  fried  sole,  with  jelly  to  follow — during  the  day 
I  had  previously  consumed  a  whole  bunch  of  your  excellent 
grapes.  I  miss  you,  and  I  reproach  myself  with  having  been  so 
often  cross  when  you  were  so  kind.  The  doctor  said  I  must 
not  work  my  brain,  but  might  read  light  literature. 


On  Board  the  "  Calabria  " — at  Sea, 
11th  August  1882. 

,Lfrd^  Please  buy  me  a  French  OUendorf  and  key,  the  smaller 

size  the  better  for  my  purpose.  I  shall  telegraph  to  Childers 
to-morrow  from  Malta  that  I  am  completely  recovered,  and 
ask  him  to  tell  you.  I  am  grateful  to  God  for  this  mercy 
to  me. 

If  we  can  get  away  from  Malta  about  5  p.m.  to-morrow, 
we  should  be  at  Alexandria  on  Tuesday  evening,  four  days  later 
than  if  I  had  gone  in  the  Salamis.  I  am  afraid  that  my  illness 
will  have  had  a  very  injurious  effect  upon  the  campaign,  as 
Northbrook  and  the  Navy  will  have  been  allowed  to  seize  upon 
IsmaiHa  before  we  were  ready  ;  however,  I  shall  not  bore  you 
with  mihtary  discussions. 

Tell  Frances  that  I  pay  "  Evelyn  "  a  daily  visit  and  give 
him  five  lumps,  because  my  other  horse  has  not  yet  learnt  to 
appreciate  sugar ;  his  coat  is  coming  off  very  freely,  but  the 
heat  down  between-decks  is  generally  100°  during  the  day, 
enough  to  bring  off  the  hair  in  handfuls.  Then  I  have  made 
friends  with  a  white  terrier  dog,   an  ugly  beast,   but   very 


Wolseley. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  71 

affectionate  ;  he  followed  the  men  as  a  stranger  on  board. 
I  hope  he  may  live  to  march  through  London  at  the 
head  of  his  regiment  when  they  return  to  Knightsbridge 
Barracks.  Every  one  has  been  very  nice  to  me  on  board, 
and  Herbert  Stewart  has  been  a  real  brother  ;  I  think  you 
might  write  her  a  few  Unes  to  say  how  grateful  you  felt  to 
her  husband  for  all  he  had  done  for  me.  The  Viceroy  would 
not  hear  of  her  leaving  the  house,  which,  I  believe,  stands 
in  the  grounds  of  the  Viceregal  Lodge.  This  shows  you  how 
much  Lord  Spencer  Uked  Stewart.  I  must  now  get  up  and  wash 
my  vile  body,  as  I  write  this  in  bed  before  breakfast.  My  new 
man.  Smith,  is  a  great  success  ;  having  been  a  soldier,  he  knows 
soldiers  well,  which  is  a  great  advantage  ;  he  is  a  first-rate  nurse, 
so  attentive  and  kind.  Henry  looks  subdued  ;  he  pines  perhaps 
after  the  society  of  the  good-looking  housemaid,  or  possibly  his 
meals  are  not  to  his  Uking ;  he  is  still  quite  the  London  footman, 
with  his  elbows  stuck  out  from  his  sides  and  with  that  pompous 
walk  which  belongs  to  the  race. 

The  Palace,  Malta, 
12th  August  1882. 

We  landed  here  this  morning,  and  are  off  again  in  a  few  hours.  i^ord 
I  have  just  seen  Wood  and  Sir  E.  Hamley,  who  are  now  starting  ^oiseUy. 
for  Alexandria  :  they  will  be  there  a  few  hours  before  me.  I 
am  afraid  that  when  the  Turkish  troops  land  in  Alexandria, 
Arabi,  seeing  the  game  is  up,  will  surrender  to  the  Turkish 
General.  This  will  be  unfortunate  politically,  and  very 
unsatisfactory  to  us  as  an  army.  I  wish  I  could  jump  to 
Alexandria ;  every  day  now  is  of  vital  consequence.  I  have 
just  done  a  fooHsh  thing  :  I  have  bought  you  some  Spanish 
point  lace — ^four  yards,  very  deep  flounce,  and  four  yards  of 
trimming — ^£50.  I  think  it  best  to  tell  you  what  I  gave.  I 
never  saw  such  beautiful  lace,  and  if  I  have  been  taken  in,  I 
cannot  help  it.  If  you  don't  like  it,  sell  it  (I  think  you  ought 
to  get  £100  for  it  at  home),  and  buy  yourself  a  bracelet. 

On  Board  H.M.  "Salamis,"  Alexandria, 
lyth  August  1882. 

I  Uved  in  a  whirl  here  yesterday,  and  I  have  got  up  at  half-      Lord 
past  five  to  write  this,  for  by  and  by  I  know  I  shall  not  have  a  ^^^^^'^>'' 
moment.     I  am  as  fit  as  a  "  fiddle."     I  never  was  a  fiddle,  and 


72  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  hate  fiddlers,  so  I  am  not  quite  sure  of  what  health  that  ex- 
pression represents,  but  at  any  rate  I  am  fit  for  work,  no  matter 
how  hard. 

On  entering  the  harbour  on  Tuesday  evening  we  very  nearly 
came  to  grief,  for  at  a  very  critical  point  in  the  navigation 
our  rudder  chain  broke,  and  our  lubbers  of  merchant  seamen 
were  a  long  time  in  rigging  the  "reUeving  tackle."  However, 
the  ship,  she  carried  Caesar  and  his  fortunes,  and  Caesar  has 
great  confidence  in  his  future. 

I  enclose  a  telegram  received  from  the  Queen  ;  please  keep  it 
for  my  return.  The  Royal  attention  came  a  little  late.  We 
are  loyal  in  every  fibre  and  every  thought  to  the  Crown  of 
England,  but  it  is  difficult  to  forget  the  Queen's  attitude  to  us 
both  hitherto. 

We  lost  two  horses  during  the  voyage,  one  an  officer's 
charger,  the  other  a  trooper  ;  the  former  was,  I  think,  the  nicest 
horse  on  board,  taking  him  all  round.  I  was  down  below  feeding 
Sir  Evelyn  with  sugar  when  he  died  in  front  of  me.  Poor  brute  ! 
he  died  hard  and  in  pain  ;  the  heat  below  where  he  was  at  the 
time  was  very  great.  I  could  not  help  feeUng,  when  I  saw  him 
thrown  overboard,  that  we  ought  to  have  read  a  burial  service, 
of  which  he  was  far  more  worthy  than  many  of  our  "  dear  brothers 
here  departed." 

Well,  yesterday  was  a  busy  day  indeed.  First  of  all,  Sir 
E.  Malet  came  to  see  me :  he  has  just  been  appointed 
"minister  plenipotentiary,"  which  gives  him  precedence  of  the 
Admiral  and  me.  I  then  went  to  see  the  Admiral,^  the  "  swell  of 
the  ocean,"  whom  I  knew  of  old,  a  very  good  fellow,  and  with 
whom  I  shall  get  on  swimmingly.  Then  I  went  to  pay  my 
respects  to  the  Khedive.  I  had  a  pretty  long  conversation  with 
him  in  my  best  French,  and  by  avoiding  compHcated  idioms, 
I  got  on  very  well.  He  is  a  very  nice-mannered  fellow,  and 
extremely  civil ;  he  comes  on  board  here  to-day  at  lo  a.m. 
to  return  my  visit.  Then  I  lunched  with  the  Admiral  on 
the  Helicon,  and  arranged  my  plan  of  campaign,  or  rather  for 
opening  the  ball.  We  leave  here  on  Saturday,  avowedly  for  the 
purpose  of  landing  at  Aboukir,  and  of  attacking  Arabi's  position 
near  this,  but  really  to  go  down  the  canal  to  seize  Ismailia. 
I  expect  to  have  my  first  skirmish  with  the  enemy  next  Sunday, 
which  I  hope  may  be  a  successful  one.  God  grant  it  may  be  so. 
*  Sir  Beauchamp  Seymour,  created  first  Lord  Alcester. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  73 

However,  the  telegraph  will  have  forestalled  anything  I  can  tell 
you  on  this  point,  so  I  shall  go  on  to  my  doings  here.  After  I 
had  made  all  my  arrangements  for  this  Canal  business,  I  drove 
to  the  position  we  occupy  outside  Alexandria  in  front  of  that 
held  by  Arabi,  where  horses  had  been  ordered  to  meet  us.  I 
found  the  Duke  of  Connaught  and  all  his  Staff  awaiting  my 
arrival ;  he  is  burnt  as  brown  as  a  saddle — I  mentioned  his 
colouring  in  my  answer  to  the  Queen — which  I  addressed  to 
H.  Ponsonby.  We  rode  about,  and  I  did  the  "  Commander-in- 
Chief,"  putting  on  an  air  as  I  looked  towards  the  enemy  that 
would  have  done  credit  to  Napoleon  as  he  was  crossing  the 
Alps.  I  then  returned  on  board  ship  to  dress  and  dine  with 
Beauchamp  Seymour.  The  heat  here  is  nothing  Uke  what  it 
was  in  Cyprus. 

What  an  epigrammatic  note  yours  was  to  the  Duchess  of 
Teck.  I  am  going  to  appoint  Teck  to  be  assistant  to  Mathieson, 
who  is  Commandant  at  Headquarters. 

I  must  now  close  this  as  I  have  yet  to  write  to  Childers  and 
to  the  Duke,  and,  if  possible,  to  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

My  best  love  to  Frances  ;  tell  her  the  donkeys  are  not  much 
bigger  than  large  dogs  here,  and  yet  they  are  cruelly  made  to 
carry  heavy  loads. 

Alexandria,  18th  August  1882. 

We  start  from  here  to-morrow  at  noon  for  Aboukir  Bay,  Lord 
where  the  fleet  and  all  the  transports  carrying  the  first  Division  ^^^'^^y- 
will  anchor  at  4  p.m.  to-morrow  to  pretend  landing  there  during 
the  night  to  attack  Arabi 's  position  in  front  of  this  place  on 
Tuesday  morning.  Every  one  here  believes  we  intend  doing 
so  :  only  about  three  people  amongst  the  soldiers  are  in  the 
secret,  and  I  have  completely  befoozled  the  "  press  "  gang,  who 
have,  I  know,  telegraphed  home  that  we  mean  to  land  at 
Aboukir.  I  suppose  they  will  be  furious  when  they  find  how 
they  have  been  taken  in,  but  if  I  can  take  them  in,  I  may 
take  in  Arabi  also.  On  Sunday  evening  I  hope  to  be  at 
Ismailia,  although  I  have  to-day  heard  that  a  French  ship  has 
been  run  aground.  I  presume  done  by  Mr.  Lesseps  on  purpose 
to  impede  our  advance.  He  has  been  most  inimical  to  us,  and 
has  evinced  an  animus  that  is  quite  curious.  It  is  no  easy 
matter  getting  30,000  men  to  a  point  with  only  a  canal  as  a 
means  of  approach. 


74  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Long  before  this  can  reach  you,  the  result  of  our  operations 
will  be  known  all  over  Europe. 

IsMAiLiA,  26th  August  1882. 

Lord  We  have  had  two   hard  days  of  it.      I  shall  not  touch 

Wolseiey.  qjq  military  details,  but  I  have  been  very  fortunate,  and  now 
hold  a  position  far  in  advance  of  what  I  expected  to  have 
occupied  for  at  least  a  week  hence.  I  cannot,  however,  go 
farther  for  ten  days  or  a  fortnight  yet,  but  when  I  do  advance 
I  hope  I  shall  not  have  to  halt  again  until  I  reach  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Cairo,  when  we  shall  have  finished  the  campaign. 

The  Duke  of  Connaught  was  hors  de  combat  yesterday  when 
I  left  him  :  a  heavy  march  in  the  sun,  no  dinner,  and  a  bad 
bivouac  had  done  him  up.  I  hear  he  came  to  time  again  in  the 
evening.  M'Neill  was  as  cheery  as  a  sandboy,  and  said  the 
Prince  would  be  all  right  again  when  he  had  had  something  to 
eat  and  a  few  hours'  rest. 

I  am  forced  to  leave  Wood  behind  in  Alexandria ;  he  will 
fume,  but  I  cannot  help  it.  He  is  the  junior  Major-General 
commanding  a  Brigade,  and  he  commands  the  Junior  Brigade. 
He  can  write  dispatches  home  about  the  doings  there,  but  I  am 
afraid  he  will  miss  the  big  coup  here,  and  am  very  sorry  for 
him. 

ISMAILIA,    28th  August   1882. 

Lord  Marching  over  the  desert  during  the  day  at  this  season  of 

Woheiey.  ^^^  y^^^  -g  ^^^y  trying  :  the  wind  strikes  your  face  at  times  as 
if  it  were  coming  out  of  a  furnace.  My  poor  nose  has  blossomed 
into  a  sort  of  half  fungus,  half  cauhfiower. 

I  saw  Baker  Russell,  who  is  now  a  Brigadier-General,  at  the 
outposts  ;  he  had  not  shaved  for  three  days  nor  changed  any 
of  his  things  ;  he  had  just  got  some  tea,  the  first  he  had  had 
for  a  few  days,  and  his  breakfast  consisted  of  very  dirty-looking 
rice,  boiled  in  an  Egyptian  pot,  and  a  little  filthy  treacle  which 
he  had  found  in  the  Egyptian  camp  the  Cavalry  had  captured. 
The  camp  abounded  in  very  nice  Eastern  carpets,  of  which 
Colonel  Stewart  said  he  would  keep  a  couple  for  you.  They 
looked  rather  "  flea-y." 

I  receive  such  nice  telegrams  from  the  Queen,  and  have  had 
a  very  flattering  one  from  Childers  sent  to  me  in  her  name  and 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  75 

on  behalf  of  the  Government.     I  met  "  my  dear  son  Arthur  " 
yesterday,  who  was  looking  very  well. 

IsMAiLiA,  31s/  August  1882. 

After  my  alarm  last  night  I  was  up  at  i  a.m.,  when  Mr.  Lord 
Lagden,  correspondent  for  the  Daily  Telegraph,  came  into  ^°^^^^' 
my  room  with  Maurice  (who  was  at  boiling  pitch  of 
excitement).  "Good  news,  sir;  we  have  had  a  brilliant 
success."  He  then  gave  me  in  detail  his  news,  how  Baker 
Russell  had  charged,  etc.  etc.  I  am  told  that  Baker's  word  of 
command,  "  Household  Cavalry,  charge !  "  was  like  thunder. 
He  led  them  like  a  man.  I  wonder  he  was  not  bowled  over, 
as  he  was  a  most  remarkable  object,  being  the  only  man  with  a 
white  jacket  on.  His  horse  was  killed,  but  they  tell  me  that 
when  on  foot  he  laid  well  about  him,  killing  two  or  three  of  the 
enemy. 

I  left  here,  thanking  God,  at  2  a.m.,  and  reached  Graham's 
camp  early  in  the  morning,  saw  the  wounded,  and  heard  the 
various  stories  of  the  men  engaged.  I  got  back  here  about 
8  p.m.,  having  been  about  seventeen  hours  in  the  saddle  :  not 
so  bad  in  this  climate. 

Have  just  received  a  telegram  from  Sir  R.  Thompson  ^  from 
which  I  gather  H.R.H.  is  furious  at  my  making  Baker  Russell 
a  Brigadier.  I  have  quite  enough  big  difficulties  here  with- 
out having  to  fight  little  difficulties  raised  in  the  Horse  Guards. 
When  it  can  be  asserted  that  I  have  appointed  a  bad  man  to 
an  office,  it  will  be  time  to  find  fault  with  my  selections.  Jackson, 
our  doctor,  tells  me  that  Teck,  when  under  a  sharp  fire  the  other 
day,  discussed  the  ring  he  would  like  to  have  on  his  finger,  if  he 
should  be  buried  here.  His  heart  is  good  if  his  health  is  bad. 
I  shall  be  curious  to  see  the  newspapers  about  Household 
Cavalry  :  they  can  be  laughed  at  no  longer  ;  I  believe  they 
will  owe  the  continuance  of  their  existence  to  my  bringing  them 
here  and  pushing  them  well  to  the  front.  They  certainly  are 
the  best  troops  in  the  world ;  at  least,  none  could  be  better. 

IsMAiLiA,  yth  September  1882. 

I  have  resolved  upon  fighting  Arabi  next  Tuesday  or  Wednes-      Lord 
day,  perhaps  on  both  days,  for  he  has  two  lines  of  entrench-  Wolseley, 
ments,   and  he   may  take  two  days'  hammering.     I  am  so 
1  Permanent  Under-Secretary  for  War,  1878-95. 


76  THE  LETTERS  OF 

afraid  he  may  bolt  after  the  first  day's  work  that  I  may  pos- 
sibly push  on  to  make  only  one  day's  work  of  it.  I  long 
for  a  real  success  to  make  the  world  feel  that  England  has 
a  lot  left  in  her,  and  that  her  soldiers'  strength  and  courage 
is  unaffected  by  the  influence  of  Radicahsm.  (The  band  of  a 
regiment  close  by  is  playing  "  BeUeve  me,  if  all  those  endearing 
young  charms,"  an  air  that  I  am  very  fond  of.)  Before  this 
reaches  you  the  news  of  our  fight  will  have  reached  you  with  its 
disquieting  "  butcher's  bill,"  over  which  Mr.  John  Bull  rather 
gloats,  and  thinks,  when  the  list  is  a  long  one,  that  he  has  had 
something  for  his  money.  And  yet  how  much  pleasanter  is 
death  from  clean  bullet  wounds  than  from  loathsome  diseases. 
To  be  killed  in  the  open  air  with  the  conviction  you  are  dying 
for  your  country,  how  different  from  rotting  to  death  in  a 
hospital,  or  dying  like  a  consumptive  girl  in  an  artificially 
heated  room.  I  am  no  great  lover  of  life,  but  I  should  like 
to  do  something  for  England  before  I  die,  and  at  best  this 
Egyptian  affair  cannot  be  much.  Besides,  I  should  like  to 
have  one  good  triumph  over  those  who  have  striven  hard 
to  hunt  me  down,  for  some  years  past.  The  weather  here 
becomes  cooler  every  day,  and  except  that  exertion  in  the 
sun  is  trying,  this  is  a  charming  climate.  I  have  four 
foreigners — representatives  of  France,  Germany,  Russia,  and  the 
United  States — coming  to  live  upon  me,  so  I  have  asked  Teck 
to  look  after  them :  they  are,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  to  live  at  my 
expense,  and  we  shall  have  the  same  kitchen,  but  they  won't 
dine  at  my  table,  which  will  be  a  comfort.  It  would  be  un- 
bearable to  have  a  bundle  of  foreigners  listening  to  all  one  said 
at  every  meal ;  one  might  as  well  be  at  your  Kursaal  without 
any  of  its  amusing  incidents.  FitzGeorge  manages  my  mess 
and  does  it  very  well. 

Camp  Kassassin  Loch,  22  miles  west  of  Ismailia, 
Sunday,  10th  September  1882. 

Lord  Early  yesterday  morning   I  heard  from  Willis  ^  that  the 

enemy  was  coming  on,  and  that  he  had  ordered  up  the 
Guards  Brigade.  I  put  self  and  Staff  into  a  train,  and  upon 
arrival  here  found  Methuen  with  one  of  his  horses,  which  I 
mounted  and  trotted  out  about  3J  miles  to  where  I  found  Willis 
and  all  his  force,  the  enemy  having  been  driven  back  into  their 
1  Sir  Frederick  Willis  commanded  i  st  Division. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  77 

works  at  Tel-el-Kebir  ;  we  took  four  guns  and  killed  a  lot  of 
t  hem — our  losses  were  small.  The  poor  Guards  Brigade  marched 
all  through  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  came  in  in  the  evening 
very  tired  and  bivouacked  for  the  night.  I  went  down  from  my 
camp  to  see  them,  and  met  the  Duke  of  Connaught.  He  is 
really  one  of  the  most  active  Brigadiers  I  have,  and  is  very  keen. 
I  am  distressed  in  my  mind  as  to  what  I  shall  do,  for  I  want  to 
shove  the  Foot  Guards  into  a  hot  comer,  and  they  want  this 
themselves,  and  they  are  the  best  troops  I  have,  but  I  am  so 
nervous  that  no  injury  should  befall  the  favourite  son  of  the 
Queen  that  I  am  loath  to  endanger  his  Ufe.  This  is  a  serious 
matter  for  me,  for  I  have  determined  to  move  out  from  here 
on  Tuesday  night  to  attack  the  enemy's  fortified  position  on 
Wednesday  morning  a  little  before  daybreak.  I  am  so  weak 
that  I  cannot  afford  to  indulge  in  any  other  plan,  and  it  requires 
the  steadiest  and  the  best  troops  to  attain  my  object — and  then 
I  may  fail — oh,  God  grant  I  may  not ! — I  know  that  I  am  doing 
a  dangerous  thing,  but  I  cannot  wait  for  reinforcements  ;  to 
do  so  would  kill  the  spirit  of  my  troops,  which  at  present  is  all 
L  could  wish  it  to  be.  I  hope  I  may  never  return  home  a 
defeated  man  :  I  would  sooner  leave  my  old  bones  here,  than 
go  home  to  be  jeered  at.  Adye  doesn't  like  my  plan,  I  can  see, 
but  his  proposal  would  entail  heavy  losses,  and  lead  to  nothing 
final.  If  my  plan  succeeds,  it  will  be  the  end  of  Arabi,  and  my 
losses  will  be  light.  Everything  depends  upon  the  steadiness 
of  my  infantry.  If  they  are  steady  in  the  dark — a  very  crucial 
trial — I  must  succeed.  Otherwise  I  might  fail  altogether,  or 
achieve  very  little.  You  can  fancy  that  this  responsibility 
tells  a  little  upon  me,  but  I  don't  think  any  soul  here  thinks  so. 
By  this  hour  on  Wednesday  we  shall  know  all.  How  inscrut- 
able are  the  ways  of  (jod,  and  how  ignorant  we  are  of  what  the 
next  hour  may  bring  forth,  joy  or  sorrow,  victory  or  failure. 
If  I  had  Wood's  Brigade  here,  I  should  be  happy,  but  having  to 
leave  it  at  Alexandria  has  been  a  sad  weakening  of  my  force, 
and  all  occasioned  by  that  silly  and  criminal  bombardment  of 
Alexandria,  which  Lord  Northbrook^  and  the  Admiralty  con- 
cocted. Lord  N.  is  scarcely  a  statesman  :  but  he  has  energy 
and  a  bustling  temperament,  so  amongst  the  poor  invertebrate 
creatures  now  composing  our  Cabinet  he  is  really  a  force. 

*  First  Eaxl  of  Northbrook  (i  826-1 904) ;  twice  Under-Secretary  of  State 
for  War-  Viceroy  of  India,  1872-76  ;  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  1880-85. 


78  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Monday,  nth  September. — I  have  been  out  reconnoitring 
again  this  morning  :  met  the  Duke  of  Connaught  en  route,  who 
asked  to  join  me,  so  we  jogged  out  to  the  front  together  ;  when  I 
picked  him  up  he  was  busy  burying  some  dead  men  and  horses 
that  were  lying  about  near  his  advanced  picket,  to  the  annoy- 
ance of  one's  smelling  senses. 

I  have  arranged  to  meet  all  the  Generals  to-morrow  at 
4  a.m.,  at  that  same  picket,  to  explain  my  plans  for  the 
night  and  following  morning. 

I  wonder  what  you  are  doing  at  this  moment. 

I  have  not  told  Childers  I  am  to  attack  on  the  early  morning 
of  Wednesday,  so  I  hope  you  will  not  have  your  rest  disturbed 
by  any  anxiety  on  my  part  until  the  result  of  my  action  is 
known. 

St.  Leger  Herbert  ^  has  arrived,  and  I  told  him  the  only  thing 
I  could  do  for  him  was  to  attach  him  as  a  private  to  the  mounted 
infantry,  where  he  should  have  every  opportunity  of  being 
shot  afforded  to  him.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  he  had  managed 
to  find  a  private  soldier's  red  jacket  and  was  then  starting  to 
join  his  Corps.  He  is  a  very  plucky  fellow  ;  I  wish  I  had  a 
thousand  like  him  for  next  Wednesday  morning. 

Havelock  2  is  still  here  as  mad  as  ever :  I  received  a  letter 
from  him  yesterday,  begging  to  have  it  sent  home  as  it  was  a 
request  to  be  re-employed,  etc.  etc.,  in  his  usual  strain.  I  am 
extremely  sorry  for  him,  and  feel  for  him  very  much,  but  still 
feel  that  he  can  never  be  employed  again  :  he  is  not  sane  enough 
to  argue  with.  Tell  Frances  that  I  beUeve  there  are  very  large 
spiders  in  this  desert  which  bite  you  very  severely  and  almost 
dangerously. 

Tel-el-Kebir,  14th  September  1882. 
Lord  Thank  God  all  has  gone  well  with  me  :  I  had  a  very  nervous 

time  of  it,  for  I  was  trying  a  new  thing,  I  may  say,  in  our  military 
annals,  and  its  success  depended  entirely  upon  the  steadiness 
of  our  infantry.  Troops  are  seldom  steady  in  the  dark,  and 
are  so  liable  to  panic  that  all  such  operations  as  that  of  the 
night  before  last  have  many  elements  of  uncertainty  about  them 
which  no  foresight  can  entirely  provide  for. 

1  Mr.  St.  Leger  Herbert  was  killed  at  Abu  Klea,  January  1885,  when 
serving  as  correspondent  to  the  Morning  Post. 

*Sir  Henry  Havelock-Allan,  V.C. ;  killed  by  the  Afridis,  December 
1897. 


Wolseley 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  79 

I  have  just  received  congratulatory  telegram  from  the  Queen 
and  from  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  I  hope  the  EngUsh  people 
will  be  pleased  :  they  never  can  know  the  difficulties  an  English 
commander  has  to  struggle  against  with  an  army  hastily 
thrown  together  without  cohesion  between  its  component  parts 
and  no  organised  transport. 

I  have  received  this  morning  a  telegram  from  the  self- 
appointed  rulers  of  Cairo  saying  the  Army  submits  :  I  am 
pushing  forward  this  afternoon  with  the  Guards'  Brigade  to 
Calioub,  8  miles  north  of  Cairo,  and  I  shall  very  likely  occupy 
the  outskirts  of  that  city  this  evening.  If  I  do  so  will  end  the 
war,  but  how  long  we  should  be  obhged  to  occupy  the  country 
I  cannot  say.  The  Khedive  will  have  to  organise  some  new 
mihtary  force,  for  at  present  he  has,  I  may  say,  none,  and  his 
only  authority  rests  upon  our  bayonets.  Arabi  has  bolted, 
I  know  not  where.  He  went  yesterday  evening  to  Cairo,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  say  where  he  will  escape  to,  some  think  to  Tripoli, 
others  to  Mecca.  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  obtain  the  tip 
of  his  nose  for  Frances,  but  I  send  her  one  of  his  visiting  cards 
which  we  found  in  his  tent  here.  He  and  his  army  were  com- 
pletely taken  by  surprise  yesterday  morning ;  we  killed  a  great 
number  of  them,  but  our  cavalry  might  have  killed  thousands 
more  as  they  rode  through  thousands  who  threw  their  arms 
away  and  held  up  their  hands  in  token  of  submission. 

P.S. — I  fear  poor  Rawson  1  cannot  live.  He  was  shot  through 
the  body  leading  the  Brigade  to  the  point  of  attack.  Such  a 
fine,  plucky  fellow ! 

Abdin  Palace,  Cairo,  i^th  September  1882. 

What  a  change  in  forty-eight  hours ! !  from  the  squalor  i^j 
and  misery  of  the  desert,  with  all  its  filth  and  flies,  to  the  cool  Woiseiey. 
luxury  of  this  spacious  palace.  Yesterday  Hving  on  filth, 
to-day  having  iced  champagne.  I  write  this  at  an  open  window 
of  the  palace  looking  upon  a  square  with  a  half-finished  mosque 
opposite,  joining  on  to  a  Barrack  where  some  Highlanders  are 
now  taking  up  their  quarters,  to  the  delight  and  amusement 
of  the  population.  It  is  absurd  to  tell  you  of  our  doings  yester- 
day or  the  day  before,  as  they  are  all  known  to  you  by  this  time 

*  Lieutenant  Rawson,  naval  A.D.C.,  who  led  the  Highland  Brigade  to 
the  point  of  attack. 


So  THE  LETTERS  OF 

already.  I  can  only  say  that  nothing  could  be  more  complete 
than  our  success  has  been.  So  much  so  that  I  have  to-day 
telegraphed  to  Cliilders  ^  that  the  war  is  over  and  that  he  need 
not  send  me  any  more  troops  from  home  or  elsewhere.  I  know 
for  certain  that  the  Government  have  been  rather  nervous  for 
the  last  ten  days  that  we  were  not  strong  enough  to  accomplish 
the  task  we  had  in  hand.  My  telegram  from  Tel-el-Kebir  will, 
therefore,  have  been  a  reUef  to  their  strained  nerves.  I  said 
before  I  left  home  the  war  would  be  over  before  the  i6th  inst., 
and  it  is  over  on  the  15th,  so  my  calculation  was  not  a  bad  one. 

16th  September. — Have  just  received  the  following  telegram 
in  cipher  from  Mr.  Gladstone  : 

**  In  the  name  of  Her  Majesty  and  with  lively  pleasure  I 
propose  to  you  that  you  should  receive  a  peerage  in  acknow- 
ledgment of  your  distinguished  services.     I  write  by  post." 

To  which  my  answer  was  : 

"  Most  deeply  grateful  and  very  sensible  of  the  great  honour 
H.M.  is  pleased  to  confer  on  me.  G.  W." 

Being  given  for  "distinguished  services"  in  the  field,  it 
must  be  accompanied  by  a  pension  of  £2000  a  year.  This 
augmentation  to  our  income  will  prevent  my  "  sniffling,"  as 
you  always  say  I  do,  about  the  vastness  of  our  fortune.  All  is 
well  that  ends  well ;  if  I  had  been  made  a  peer  last  year,  as  in- 
tended, I  should  have  had  no  pension  with  the  peerage,  and 
now  would  have  been  made  a  viscount,  with  possibly  no  grant 
accompanying  it. 

lyth  September. — I  enclose  half  a  dozen  of  Arabics  visiting 
cards  for  you  to  distribute  amongst  your  friends  as  curiosities. 
I  have  kept  his  pistols  to  add  to  my  trophy  of  arms  in  6  Hill 
Street.  I  also  enclose  a  little  book  of  extracts  from  the  Koran 
which  belongs  to  Arabi :  it  is  a  charming  little  book  done  by 
hand  and  I  send  it  as  a  present  to  yourself  with  my  fondest 
love. 

Cairo,  2^th  September  1882. 

Lord  My  dearest  Wife, — I  hear  that  a  post  will  leave  this  for 

o  seiey.  gj^gig^^d  some  time  this  forenoon,  so  I  shall  scribble  you  a  few 
lines  by  it.     I  cannot  reaHse  that  I  have  not  yet  been  eight 
>  The  Right  Hon.  Hugh  Childers,  Secretary  of  State  for  War,  1880-82. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  8i 

weeks  from  London ;  the  day  after  to-morrow  will  be  the  eighth 
week  since  I  sneaked  through  our  stables  in  Hill  Street  to  be 
driven  to  the  Docks,  and  yet  here  I  am  now  counting,  I  may  say, 
the  days  that  are  to  elapse  before  I  leave  on  my  return  jour;iey. 
This  will  have  been  my  shortest  absence  on  a  campaign,  and  let 
us  hope  it  will  do  us  both  most  good. 

Classing  me  in  the  same  boat  with  Admiral  Seymour  is 
too  much  of  a  good  thing,  but  I  cannot  help  it.  I  suppose 
the  Queen  as  usual  is  against  my  having  any  reward.  I 
often  think,  as  I  see  the  obsequious  fellows  who  find  favour 
at  Court,  that  few  of  them  would  do  as  much  for  the  Royal 
Family  in  time  of  need  as  I  should  do.  I  received  a  letter 
from  the  Prince  of  Wales  by  the  same  post  as  that  by  which 
you  informed  me  that  he  had  spoken  to  you  about  coming 
to  Egypt.  He  said  now  that  the  war  was  over,  of  course,  the 
plans  he  had  formed  fall  to  the  ground. ^  He  then  referred  to 
Baker  Russell.  I  have  reminded  the  Prince  that  although 
Colonel  Ewart,2  whom  Russell  superseded,  had  become  a  full 
Colonel  before  Russell,  it  was  because  he  belonged  to  a  corps  in 
which  the  of&cers  were  given  privileged  rank ;  that  he  had 
never  seen  any  service,  whilst  B.  R.  had  been  made  Major, 
Lt. -Colonel,  and  full  Colonel  for  distinguished  service  in  three 
campaigns,  and  had  entered  the  service  and  gone  through  his 
first  campaign  before  Ewart  had  been  gazetted  into  the  Army 
at  all. 

The  whole  city  is  en  fete  to-day  as  the  Khedive  arrives  here 
at  3.30  p.m.  :  all  the  troops  line  the  streets,  salutes  are  to 
be  fired,  etc.  etc.,  and  this  evening  the  whole  place  is  to  be 
illuminated. 

Sir  William  Hewitt  arrived  here  last  night  and  is  staying 
with  me ;  as  you  know,  he  is  an  old  friend  of  mine  and  the  best 
of  fellows  in  every  way. 

I  cannot  yet  believe  that  I  am  to  see  you  again  so  soon. 
My  hair  is  en  brosse,  and  there  is  no  chance  of  its  growing  to  any 
length  before  I  reach  London  ;  in  fact,  I  am  uglier  than  ever. 

'  As  soon  as  the  Expedition  was  formed  the  Prince  of  Wales  asked 
urgently  to  be  allowed  to  accompany  it.  The  proposal  did  not  find 
favour  with  the  Sovereign  or  the  Government.  At  Homburg  he  asked 
Lady  Wolseley  to  arrange  for  a  cipher  telegram  to  go  to  Lord  Wolseley 
reiterating  his  earnest  desire  to  come  out  to  Egypt. 

2  Commanding  Household  Cavalry  Regiment,  afterwards  Sir  Henry 
Ewart,  Crown  Equerry. 

6 


82  THE  LETTERS  OF 

The  colours  in  the  streets  at  every  turn  at  every  point  of 
view  are  charming,  so  unUke  that  to  be  seen  in  Europe.  This 
is  really  the  city  where  the  West  meets  the  East.  The  views  in 
the  bazaars  are  charming  :  an  artist  might  live  here  for  years 
and  still  find  endless  subjects  for  his  brush. 

P.S. — FitzGeorge  ^  takes  home  the  dispatches.  I  think  this 
will  give  pleasure  to  the  Duke. 

Cairo,  2Sth  September  1882. 

Lord  My  dearest  Loo, — I  enclose  you  a  letter  I  have  just  received 

Woiseiey.  fj-Qj^  the  Queen  ;  if  you  remark,  there  is  not  one  approving 
sentence  in  it.  I  have  done  my  best  for  my  country,  and  if  my 
country's  sovereign  does  not  appreciate  my  services,  I  cannot 
help  it.  I  have  just  heard  from  Matilda,  who  tells  me  the 
Princess  Mary  paid  mother  a  long  visit  the  other  day,  and  was 
most  forthcoming  and  pleasant.  I  enclose  you  copies  of  Glad- 
stone's letter  to  me,  and  of  my  answer  to  it.  You  will  perceive 
that  I  was  careful  to  refer  to  his  promise  made  to  me  in  February 
'81.  I  am  not  to  be  allowed  to  have  the  second  grade ;  they 
might  make  me  a  Field-Marshal,  as  several  are  soon  to  be  created. 
But,  my  dear  child,  I  don't  expect  anything,  for  I  feel  the  Court 
influence  is  all  steadily  against  me  :  I  have  done  all  I  could 
lately  to  mollify  the  Queen's  dislike  to  me,  and  to  gain  her 
favour. 

I  serve  the  country,  and  it  is  only  when  I  think  I  have  done 
it  some  good,  and  served  it  well  and  successfully,  that  I  feel 
any  pride  in  what  I  have  done.  If  Ministers  do  not  reward  me 
as  they  reward  every  party  supporter,  I  content  myself  with 
feeling  that  I  am  misunderstood — ^a  feeling  which  is  always 
a  great  satisfaction  to  poor  complaining  mortals — ^and  that 
possibly,  if  I  am  spared  by  God  ever  yet  to  do  something  really 
brilliant,  great,  or  worthy  of  a  patriot  for  my  country,  that  my 
countrymen  will  do  my  memory  justice,  and  recognise  in  me  a 
man  who  worked  hard  all  his  life  for  a  higher  motive  than 
reward.  I  have  always  been  ambitious,  and  thought  that  the 
higher  I  mounted  the  military  ladder  the  better  I  should  serve 
the  idol  I  have  worshipped  since  I  was  capable  of  understand- 
ing what  love  of  country  meant.    To  see  England  great  is  my 

1  Afterwards  Colonel  FitzGeorge,  eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of  Cambridge. 


•  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  83 

highest  aspiration,  and  to  lead  in  contributing  to  that  greatness 
is  my  only  real  ambition. 

I  enclose  Childers'  letter  to  me,  in  which  in  a  moment  of 
candour — unusual  in  a  politician — ^he  acknowledges  what  the 
battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir  has  done  for  his  infernal  "  party." 

We  had  a  grand  review  yesterday  in  front  of  this  palace  for 
the  Khedive  and  all  his  Ministers.  I  had  to  give  up  my  rooms 
for  the  afternoon  to  the  Khedive's  wife  and  harem,  who  looked 
at  the  review  through  the  closed  jalousies  of  the  windows,  poor 
souls,  carefully  guarded  by  black  eunuchs.  The  sight  was  a 
very  pretty  one,  and  one  that  Cairo  is  never  likely  to  see  again 
during  the  lives  of  this  generation.  The  Life  Guards  will  return 
home  very  shortly,  and  I  should  very  much  like  to  see  their 
entry  into  London,  for  I  am  sure  they  will  have  a  great  reception, 
and  they  richly  deserve  it. 

My  worthy  old  Doctor  Jackson  wanted  me  to  go  home  by 
long  sea,  but  I  have  compromised  by  going  up  the  Adriatic. 
I  am  quite  well  but  a  Httle  worn  out,  and  want  a  Uttle  rest. 
The  reaction  after  such  a  high  pressure  campaign  as  that  we 
have  had  is  considerable,  and  is  felt  even  by  those  who  have 
had  none  of  the  responsibility  that  rested  on  my  shoulders.  I 
should  so  like  to  get  away  into  the  country  with  you  for  a  few 
weeks  if  it  were  not  so  late  in  the  year.  Now  I  shall  come  in 
for  the  Lord  Mayor's  Day — 9th  November — and  shall  have  to 
make  a  speech,  a  more  terrible  thing  than  fighting  a  general 
action.  Do  please  think  of  something  for  me  to  say  upon  that 
occasion.  I  beUeve  I  am  to  have  a  sword  presented  to  me  here 
by  the  people  of  Cairo,  and  I  see  some  talk  of  the  Irish  people 
giving  me  one  also.  I  hope  I  may  not  have  to  go  there  to 
receive  it  if  the  rumour  is  true. 

Cairo,  11th  October  1882. 

In  my  letter  to  Childers  in  answer  to  the  letter  from  him  in  Lord 
which  he  announced  the  peerage  to  me,  I  told  him  I  had  accepted  ^o^*'*y- 
it  on  the  understanding  that  I  should  be  dealt  with  as  Lord 
Napier  had  been  after  Abyssinia,  and  I  said  that  I  was  so  anxious 
on  the  point  that  I  should  be  very  glad  indeed  if  he  would  on 
receipt  of  my  letter  telegraph  me  a  few  words  on  the  subject. 
I  yesterday  received  this  cipher  telegram  from  him  :  "  Private. 
Your  private  letter  23rd  September  undoubtedly,  but  amount 
unsettled  until  first  Cabinet,  will  telegraph  immediately.    Hope 


84    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

to  arrange  your  earliest  possible  return,  but  cannot  settle  till  in 
London  Wednesday  next."  I  so  thoroughly  distrust  both  the 
honesty  and  generosity  of  the  present  Cabinet  that  I  was  anxious 
to  have  something  definite  from  Childers  about  the  pension,  no 
mention  of  it  having  been  made  in  Mr.  Gladstone's  letter.  They 
are  safe  to  do  something  mean  about  it  in  some  way  or  other. 

I  am  giving  a  great  banquet  to  all  the  Ministers  here  next 
Friday — ^there  will  be  between  thirty  and  forty  at  it — ^which  is 
to  be  provided  by  Mr.  Cook.  He  did  my  picnic  the  other  day 
for  me,  and  did  it  very  well.    The  expense  of  all  this  is  heavy. 

Cairo,  Monday,  i6th  October  1882. 

Lord  I  write  this  on  the  chance  of  its  reaching  you  before  I  shall 

do  so  myself,  as  I  want  to  give  you  more  particulars  about 
my  route  than  I  gave  in  the  telegram. 

I  am  brimful  of  spirits  at  the  idea  of  seeing  you  again,  and 
hope  to  find  you  well  and  jolly.  I  am  as  fit  as  a  sandboy 
counting  the  hours  that  must  elapse  before  I  embark  with 
my  face  towards  the  setting  sun. 


War  Office,  6/12/82. 

Lord  Please  tell  Fricke  ^  to  have  the  cord  which  I  used  to  wear 

o  se  ey.  ^^^^^  ^^  nQzk  to  hold  my  pistol,  sent  to  Mr.  Sohn  to  Buck- 
ingham Palace  to-day,  as  that  eminent  artist  leaves  for  Germany 
to-morrow  morning  early.  See  my  photo,  where  the  cord  is 
shown. 

^  Lord  Wolseley's  butler  and  valet. 


Wolseley. 


1 882 


CHAPTER    VIII 


6  Hill  Street,  4th  August  1882. 
Yesterday  I  went  to  write  my  name  at  Kensington  Palace,  jJ^y 


and  got  to  the  door  just  as  Princess  Mary  was  driving  from  it. 
She  beckoned  me  over,  so  I  jumped  out  and  talked  to  her  for  a 
long  time.  She  said  her  husband  had  been  to  see  the  Calabria 
off,  and  to  see  your  cabin,  and  she  had  taken  stock  of  every- 
thing in  it.  She  had  thought  of  writing  you  a  note,  but  had 
decided  it  would  be  best  and  kindest  not  to.  She  was  very  nice, 
and  wished  to  come  and  see  me  again,  and  said  she  would  write 
and  appoint  a  day.  I  did  not  feel  the  least  shy  with  her  after 
the  first  minute.  Then  she  asked  me  to  find  out  what  Doctor 
would  be  with  the  H.Q.  Staff,  and  I  promised  to  do  that.  The 
Duke  telegraphed  yesterday  morning  for  Friston  to  go  to  the 
Palace  at  seven  last  night  to  inspect  his  kit,  which  Friston 
did,  of  course,  and  I  am  sure  much  enjoyed  it.  His  description 
of  it  was  delightful.  The  drawing-room  spread  with  all 
Whiteley's  shop,  heaps  of  presents  from  every  one  ;  medicine 
chests  enough  for  an  Army,  dressing-bags,  scent  bottles,  etc. 
etc.  They  only  came  in  from  their  drive  at  eight,  and  it  was 
past  ten  when  Friston  left,  and  they  sat  down  to  dinner.  A 
very  nice  note  this  morning  telling  me  to  go  to  luncheon.  I 
got  there  quite  punctually  at  2  (having  passed  him  driving 
rapidly  into  town  !),  and  the  Princess  was  out  too.  At  2.30 
he  came,  and  then  we  sat  down  to  luncheon  without  her.  She 
appeared  at  3.  There  was  no  one  there  but  the  four  children, 
governess,  and  tutor.  After  luncheon  he  bade  me  good-bye 
and  kissed  my  hand  ;  she  and  I  had  a  private  innings,  and  then 
I  found  out  what  she  wanted  and  promised  to  convey  it  to  you. 
She  hopes  you  will  give  him  something  to  do,  and  not  let  him 
feel  that  he  is  a  useless  Royalty  feeding  at  your  table.  She 
begs  you  will  not  listen  to  his  being  considered  like  the  Prince 
Imperial — a.  life  to  be  guarded,  etc.     She  would  like  him  to  be  a 


Wolseley. 


86  THE  LETTERS  OF 

real  useful  soldier  if  you  can  find  him  employment.  She  thinks 
there  is  great  jealousy  here  about  his  going,  and  not  unnaturally 
(as  she  admitted)  ;  the  Army  will  resent  his  being  given  a  post 
if  he  won't  work,  but  she  says  he  will  work.  She  said,  "  He  may 
get  excited  about  little  trifles,  but  when  there  is  an  emergency 
he  is  calm  and  self-possessed,  and  has  brains."  She  was  very 
brave,  and  so  very  anxious  for  him  to  have  real  duty  of  some 
kind,  that  I  hope  you  will  manage  it  for  him.  He  goes  in  the 
Capella,  and  leaves  London  at  twelve  to-night.  She  says  he  is 
to  be  a  Major  at  once,  and  talked  with  much  graceful  swaying 
and  play  of  feature  of  his  then  being  made  Lt. -Colonel,  but  I 
did  not  follow  her  there  quite.  After  I  had  gone  over  the  hst 
of  the  officers  going  in  the  Capella,  and  told  her  what  I  knew  of 
each,  she  gave  me  my  conge  and  kissed  me  affectionately. 


6  Hill  Street,  aoth  August  1882. 

^J'^y  My  dearest  Darny, — Here  I  am  still  seated  in  our  an- 

cestral  halls,  but  I  have  shrunk  down  to  the  dining-room,  every 
other  room  being  given  up  to  the  fiend  "  Order,"  as  interpreted 
by  our  handmaidens  Barbara  and  Mary.  My  letter  to  Sir  John 
Co  well  did  draw  something  out  of  the  Queen,  but  I  think  she 
might  have  sent  me  a  little  message,  but  that,  you  see,  she  did 
not  do.  I  enclose  his  telegram.  "  The  Queen  has  read  your 
letter  with  much  interest,  and  has  commanded  me  to  telegraph 
to  Lord  Napier  to  inquire  how  Sir  Garnet  is  on  Calabria's  pass- 
ing Gibraltar."  Colonel  Buller  was  married  to-day,  which  I 
luckily  heard  of  in  time  to  send  him  his  present  yesterday.  He 
writes  that  he  has  avoided  seeing  us  lest  he  should  express  a 
wish  (he  feels  the  wish  he  says  !)  to  go  to  Egypt.  I  had  a  visit 
from  old  Lady  Llano ver,  grandmamma  to  D.  of  Connaught's 
Brigade  Major,  such  a  nice  old  lady.  Lady  D.  wrote  to  say 
she  wished  to  call  on  me  "  as  we  are  neighbours,"  but  in  a  very 
civil  answer  I  told  her  I  was  on  the  eve  of  departure  for  Germany, 
but  added  patronisingly  :  "  If  you  will  repeat  your  kind  proposal 
when  we  are  again  settled  in  town,  it  will  give  me  great  pleasure 
to  see  you."  I  have  no  idea  of  her  ignoring  me  for  a  twelve- 
month, and  running  round  the  corner  just  when  it  suits  her. 
A  long  visit  from  Monsieur  Tachard,  sent  to  give  me  informa- 
tion about  German  baths ;  he  wanted  you  to  be  told  how  the 
Suez  Canal  should  be  placed  under  the  protection  of  neutrals 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  87 

(Dutch,  Belgians,  Spaniards) ;  a  grand  humanitarian  scheme 
(I  don't  think  you  hke  that  word)  which  will  make  England 
live  longer  than  any  selfish  policy.  He  ended  by  saying  that 
this  would  be  a  precedent  for  what  he  wants  personally,  the 
neutralisation  of  Alsace  ;  thus  England's  unselfishness  is  to  be 
for  his  gain.  I  am  sending  you  the  prayer  for  your  Army,  as 
you  certainly  ought  to  have  it  read. 

I  say  a  prayer  for  you  every  night  on  my  two  swelled  knees 
that  you  laugh  at,  and  Frances  says  the  soldiers*  prayer  besides 
her  own. 

i^th  August  1882. 

To-morrow  I  start  for  Homburg.  My  tin  box  is  packed,  ^^^^ 
you  know  the  importance  I  attach  to  that !  and  Fricke  is  to 
"  charger  "  our  things  on  a  bus,  and  Frances,  T.,  and  I  inside,  and 
off  we  go.  I  sleep  to-morrow  night  at  Brussels.  How  I  wish 
you  were  there,  and  how  we  would  fldner  next  day.  Princess 
Mary  came  here  yesterday  unexpectedly  and  paid  me  a  long 
visit.  She  was  very  gracious,  and  you  should  have  seen  how 
well  Frances  made  her  curtseys.  I  was  quite  right  to  let  the 
Princess  in,  was  I  not,  though  I  had  only  the  dining-room  to 
show  her  ?  I  took  her  into  the  Blue  Room  though  it  was 
all  bundled  up,  knowing  Royalty  to  be  inquiring  of  me. 

Bianco  the  Italian,  who  did  the  sketch  of  I^sseps,  has  done 
one  of  you,  from  your  big  picture,  leaning  on  a  pyramid. 

Mr.  Childers  told  me  you  had  telegraphed  back  for  25,000  lb. 
of  soap.  He  said  they  were  in  doubt  at  first  if  you  meant 
soup,  but  decided  it  must  be  soap.  Is  it  to  wash  Arabi  white  ? 
Fancy  my  waiting  in  **  Givry's  "  balcony  in  Bond  Street  for  an 
hour  to  see  Cetawayo  come  out  of  Bassano's  ?  The  crowd 
was  so  great  I  was  afraid  to  venture  into  the  street,  or  I  should 
not  have  waited  so  long.  I  saw  him  capitally.  He  rolled 
majestically  across  the  pavement  with  a  good  deal  of  "  side  on." 
A  boy  in  the  crowd  said  rather  wisely,  "  His  name  ain't  '  Geta- 
wayo  '  for  he  can't  Getaway,"  which  was  quite  true.  They  had 
to  send  for  more  police  and  hustle  him  off  through  Benson's 
shop,  to  dodge  the  mob  at  Bassano's  door. 

Homburg. 

-y>th  August. — Last  night  old  Renter  sent  me  the  telegram     ^^ 
dated  [Port   Said,   29th,   mentioning  Arabi  attacking  you  at      °***^* 


88  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Kassassin  on  the  28th.  I  am  glad  that  it  seems  to  have  gone 
off  well,  though  120  (loss)  shows  you  must  have  had  smart  fight- 
ing. I  am  alarmed  when  I  think  of  shells  falling  within  ten 
yards  of  you  the  other  day,  and  I  see  the  papers  blame  you  for 
exposing  yourself,  which  I  am  very  glad  of  and  hope  it  will 
prevent  your  exposing  yourself  in  future.  A  General  should  not  be 
rash  like  a  subaltern  ;  and  your  fighting  days  ought  to  be  over. 

Frances  was  delighted  with  her  letter.  This  pear  she  has 
drawn  entirely  alone  from  nature.  She  has  a  drawing-master, 
and  a  little  German  girl  comes  to  play  with  her  for  an  hour 
every  day,  so  she  is  not  quite  idle.  I  miss  you  so  very  much 
I  cannot  take  interest  in  anything  but  Egypt,  or  even  read  other 
things  in  the  paper. 

Lady  Ventry  has  again  been  here,  and  again  mentioned  that 
the  Prince  of  Wales  "  never  sees  me."  He  gave  a  luncheon 
yesterday  (it  was  too  wet  for  the  picnic)  to  which  she  and 
others  were  bidden.  I  said  my  seeing  His  Royal  Highness 
depended  on  him,  not  me,  that  I  had  written  my  name  in  his 
book  the  day  after  he  arrived  and  could  take  no  further  step. 


HoMBURG,  4th  September  1882. 

w^i^i  '^^^^  place  (beyond  interminable  gossip)  does  not  give  many 

subjects  of  interest,  but  I  read  this  morning  in  the  Diary 
of  an  Idle  Woman  in  Sicily  something  very  applicable  to  you. 
"  Agathocles  (that  is  you)  besieged  and  took  Tunis,  with  pro- 
digious activity  he  rushed  from  place  to  place.  Now  he  was 
on  the  seashore,  then  on  the  borders  of  the  desert,  or  back 
again  on  the  sea.  Again  he  fought  Libyans  and  Carthaginians, 
and  again  he  beat  them.  One  ruse  I  must  mention.  On  first 
going  into  action  against  Hamilcar  he  caused  a  number  of  owls 
which  he  had  procured  to  be  uncaged  ;  these,  sitting  on  the 
helmets  and  bucklers  of  the  soldiers,  were  hailed  as  a  visible 
symbol  of  the  presence  of  Pallas."  Do  you  think  some  London 
sparrows  would  reassure  the  Household  troops  ? 

■y  Two  days  ago  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  King  of  Greece 
came  to  call  on  me  while  I  was  out ! !  I  wrote  to  his  Equerry, 
Captain  Tyrwhitt  Wilson  ,1  regretting  that  I  should  have  been 
out,  and  begging  he  would  convey  to  the  Prince  and  the  King 
how  sensible  I  was  of  their  condescension  in  coming. 
1  The  Hon.  Henry  Tyrwhitt  Wilson. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  89 

Was  that  right  ?  That  evening  I  got  a  note  from  Lady 
Ventry  saying  the  Prince  had  mentioned  with  regret  not  seeing 
me  and  that  she  had  promised  I  would  go  down  to  the  Wells 
next  morning.  Accordingly  I  got  me  up  and  went  down.  The 
Prince  came  up  at  once  and  walked  me  up  and  down  (that  is  the 
custom  between  glasses  of  water)  at  the  most  furious  rate.  I 
have  never  walked  so  fast  even  with  you  !  He  was  quite 
pleasant  !  He  said  I  was  to  tell  you  "  his  criticism  would  be 
that  you  rather  underrated  your  enemy."  I  said  (with  an  air 
of  deference)  that  I  would  tell  you.  He  told  me  he  had  been 
to  Frankfort  the  day  before  "  to  meet  my  eldest  sister," 
and  they  had  sat  down  a  family  party  of  27  at  luncheon,  19 
of  whom  were  children  from  5  to  18.  We  took  two  long  turns 
up  and  down  the  all^e  together,  then  he  said,  "  I  must  drink 
another  glass,"  and  I  made  him  my  curtsey  and  we  parted. 
He  begged  me  to  give  you  all  sorts  of  kind  messages  from  him, 
and  every  wish  for  your  success. 


HoMBURG,  12th  September  1882. 

The  last  three  days  I  have  been  feeling  very  anxious  and  „,^f^y 
have  been  inwardly  abusing  Sir  R.  Thompson  for  his  complete 
neglect  of  me  in  the  way  of  telegrams.  On  Tuesday  (loth) 
the  Prince  sent  me  telegrams  he  had  received  from  Renter  about 
the  attack  Arabi  made  on  Kassassin  on  Saturday,  but  from 
the  W.O.  I  have  not  heard  one  word  about  it  up  to  this  present 
moment  (Tuesday,  9  p.m.),  and  of  course  at  the  W.O.  they 
cannot  know  of  my  having  heard  of  it  from  the  Prince.  Had  he 
not  been  here  I  should  have  heard  absolutely  nothing.  I  wrote 
yesterday  to  Sir  R.  T.,  and  told  him  I  that  should  be  much 
obliged  by  his  sending  me  a  telegram  whenever  anything  of 
importance  occurred  (whether  you  were  personally  engaged  in 
it  or  not),  and  that  as  I  could  not  expect  this  to  be  done  at  the 
public  expense,  I  would  ask  him  to  allow  his  secretary  to  keep 
an  account  of  the  outlay,  which  I  could  repay  on  my  return  to 
England.  I  do  not  know  what  Sir  O.  Lanyon  means  by  telling 
you  his  wife  sends  me  a  telegram  after  every  scrimmage,  I  have 
neither  received  a  telegram  nor  a  letter  of  any  kind  from  her 
since  I  left  London.  I  wrote  to  her  two  or  three  days  ago,  and 
shall  be  curious  to  see  whether  in  her  answer  she  mentions  the 
telegram  matter.     Last  week  I  received  first  your  letter  of 


Wolseley. 


90  THE  LETTERS  OF 

August  28th,  then  the  one  of  22nd  and  of  31st.  You  are  still 
not  sending  your  journal,  which  I  regret.  Are  you  keeping  it  ? 
and  why  may  I  not  have  it  ?  I  follow  you  most  accurately  on 
the  map  and  know  Mahuta  and  Magpar  and  Kassassin  and 
Tel-el-Kebir  as  well  as  you  do,  and  Zagazig  and  all  the  places. 
The  Prince  of  Wales  was  very  civil  in  sending  me  a  letter  to  read 
which  he  had  had  from  Colonel  Ewart  within  a  day  or  so  before 
the  cavalry  charge.  Your  name  was  not  once  mentioned  in  it, 
which  I  thought  odd.  It  was  a  nice,  rather  dull  letter.  Captain 
Oliver  Montagu  sent  his  "  humble  duty,"  and  the  rest  "  their 
loyal  respects  "  to  H.R.H.,  which  I  noted  as  being  useful  words. 
In  exchange  I  wrote  out  some  extracts — judicious  ones,  I  assure 
you — for  H.R.H.,  and  sent  them  to  him.  We  had  in  this  way 
quite  an  interchange  of  notes,  he  writing  me  three  very  civil  ones, 
which  I  have  kept  for  the  family  archives.  I  must  tell  you  that 
in  my  extracts  I  made  the  most  of  all  you  said  in  praise  of 
the  Household  Cavalry.  On  Saturday,  I  was  walking  with  old 
Sir  G.  Bowen,  when  we  came  on  the  Prince,  who  went  out  of  his 
way  to  stop  and  talk  to  me.  He  told  me  he  had  sent  my  letter 
to  the  Queen,  as  he  knew  it  would  interest  her,  and  he  seemed 
much  pleased  at  the  praise  you  had  given  to  the  Household 
Cavalry,  but  spoke  a  little  bitterly  of  Baker  Russell's  promotion 
over  Ewart 's  head.  He  produced  a  telegram  from  Lord  Charles 
Beresford  saying  :  "Sir  Wolseley  won't  allow  me  to  accept 
Khedive's  appointment  return  to  Europe  on  Tuesday,"  or  words 
to  that  effect.  He  deplored  your  decision  and  expressed  great 
surprise  at  it.  I  said  you  must  have  some  reason,  for  I  was  sure 
that  you  admired  Lord  C.'s  pluck  and  daring  so  much  it  was  not 
from  any  personal  feeling  at  all,  and  I  said,  "  I  hope,  sir,  at  least 
you  will  reserve  your  verdict  till  we  know  the  circumstances  of 
the  case."  I  did  not  know  how  better  to  defend  you,  my  dear  ; 
I  wish  I  was  cleverer  and  knew  better  what  to  say.  Then  we 
arrived  at  the  real  reason  of  his  visit.  He  wants  me  to  tell  you 
how  anxious  he  is  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  Egypt  to  "  see  the 
troops."  He  asked  me  to  write  and  beg  you  to  telegraph  to  the 
Queen  that  in  your  opinion  it  would  have  a  very  good  effect  if 
he  went  out  to  "  see  the  troops."  First  he  asked  me  to  write 
you  this,  then  finding  how  slowly  a  letter  went,  he  said  would 
I  telegraph  it  to  you.  I  said  if  so,  I  must  do  it  in  cipher,  as 
otherwise  it  would  be  in  every  paper  before  your  telegram 
reached  the  Queen.     He  said  could  I  send  it  in  cipher.     I  said 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


91 


my  only  way  to  do  that  would  be  through  Lady  Lanyon,  who 
liad  offered  to  send  you  any  telegrams  I  liked  in  cipher ;  but  in 
that  case,  of  course,  she  must  know  it.  Then  (very  brilUantly  / 
thought)  I  suggested  he  should  telegraph  this  to  you  himself  from 
London,  where  he  arrives  this  week,  in  my  name.  It  is  much 
easier  for  him  to  do  it,  and  he  can  word  it  exactly  as  he  likes. 
It  was  agreed  that  this  should  be  done,  and  he  pressed  me  very 
much  to  tell  you  by  letter  also  how  extremely  anxious  he  is  to  go. 
He  thinks  the  Queen  would  not  object  to  his  going  out  to  see  the 
troops  (that  was  the  phrase  he  always  used),  and  that  there  would 
be  no  plea  of  danger  now  that  everything  is  organised,  etc.  etc. 
He  seemed  to  think  yoit  would  not  want  him  to  go,  and  I  was 
able  to  say  very  truthfully  that  you  had  felt  great  regret  that 
he  had  not  in  the  first  instance  been  allowed  to  go,  and  that  as 
far  as  you  were  concerned  I  knew  you  hoped  he  might  be  allowed 
to  go  now,  but  I  added,  "  I  am  afraid  the  suggestion,  coming  from 
Sir  Garnet,  may  not  have  any  weight  with  the  Queen." 

40  Clarges  Street,  6th  October  1882. 

I  should  like  to  run  over  to  Paris  and  travel  back  with  you  Lady 
from  there.  Let  me  know  your  dates  when  you  can.  The  °^^^' 
House  meets  on  the  24th  October.  Mr.  Goschen  said  he  thought 
the  Vote  of  Thanks  would  be  on  the  26th  ;  though  you  say 
end  of  October.  I  feel  sure  you  will  get  home  for  the  Vote, 
won't  you  ?  I  have  got  Arabi's  little  Koran  and  like  it  im- 
mensely. It  is  a  sweet  little  cadeau.  I  am  already  speculating 
if  the  "  Osmanli  "  decoration  has  some  diamonds  /  could 
abstract.  An  unknown  Mrs.  Rogers  sent  me  a  pretty  comment 
made  on  you  by  some  friend  of  hers,  "  a  very  old  lady  "  ;  she 
said,  "  Don't  talk  to  me  of  Sir  Garnet  W.  /  call  him  Sir 
Diamond."  Every  one  wants  to  know  your  title,  and  every  one 
says  don't  change  your  name.  But  shall  you  be  Wolseley  of 
Tel-el-Kebir  or  Wolseley  of  Cairo  ?  The  latter  sounds  best. 
Did  you  see  the  World  said  Sir  B.  S.  would  be  Lord  Damietta 
because  he  sometimes  used  a  "  big,  big  D  "  ? 

TuNBRiDGE  Wells,  1.2th  October  1882. 

I  have  got  yours  of  the  28th  enclosing  Her  Majesty's  letter,  ^^f^y 
It  purports  to  be  a  letter  of  congratulation,  and  curiously 
omits  any  reference  to  your  share  in  the  victory.     You  are 


92  THE  LETTERS  OF 

congratulated  on  having  "  such  troops  to  command,"  on  her 
son's  safety,  but  how  you  did  your  work  is  never  mentioned. 
Now  I  have  not  had  one  single  letter,  even  from  women  who  had 
no  relations  out  there  with  you,  that  did  not  contain  a  reference 
to  the  boundless  gratitude  that  every  one  feels  towards  you  for 
having  by  your  skill  and  decision  and  promptitude  saved  so 
many,  many  lives. 


TuNBRiDGE  Wells,  ic^th  October  1882. 

Lady  I  am  almost  glad  that  you  admit  being  a  little  **  tired,"  so 

Woiseiey.  ^-^^^  you  may  give  yourself  a  fair  chance  of  resting  and  not  knock 
yourself  up  by  going  on  and  on,  working  away  like  a  nigger  till 
you  are  really  quite  ill.  I  am  very  glad  you  stick  to  "  Woiseiey." 
I  think  every  one  is  agreed  you  could  not  do  better,  and  it  would 
have  been  almost  snobbish  to  take  Brummagem  new-fangled 
name.  I  see  Sir  B.  Seymour  has  chosen  "  Alcester,"  if  the  papers 
are  to  be  believed.  What  "  gaUre  "  is  "  Alcester  "  ?  Has  it 
a  connection  with  Seymour  ?  I  have  no  Peerage,  so  cannot  tell. 
My  letter  to  Lady  Ely  resulted  in  the  enclosed,  which  reached 
me  this  morning.  It  had  journeyed  after  me  to  Dresden  and 
back,  so  is  not  as  fresh  as  it  might  be.  The  Queen  kindly  thought 
I  would  like  to  see  a  copy  of  part  of  a  letter  she  had  received 
from  the  Duke  of  Connaught.     Here  is  what  he  wrote  : 


"  Kasr-el-Lanzza,  Cairo, 

26th  September  1882. 

"  I  cannot  thank  you  sufficiently  for  all  your  congratulations 
on  the  success  at  Tel-el-Kebir.  The  part  I  took  in  that  very  suc- 
cessful battle  was  a  very  small  one,  but  I  am  glad  that  Sir  Garnet 
was  satisfied  with  the  '  conduct  of  the  Brigade.'  Here  in  Cairo 
they  have  been  behaving  uncommonly  well,  and  have  set  a  very  good 
example  to  the  remainder  of  the  Army.  Sir  Garnet  has  been  most 
kind  to  me  all  the  time  I  have  been  under  his  orders,  and  I  don't 
wish  to  serve  under  a  pleasanter  chief,  or  one  in  whom  one  feels 
greater  confidence.  He  is  the  least  fussy  General  I  have  ever  served 
under,  and  his  orders  are  short  and  clear  ;  he  never  interferes  with 
one  and  always  gives  one  credit  for  what  one  does.  Being  Com- 
mandant of  Cairo,  and  my  Brigade  being  the  only  one  quartered 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  93 

in  the  town,  I  am  quite  independent,  and  give  what  orders  I  like  ; 
and  take  my  orders  direct  from  Sir  Garnet." 

On  reading  it  first  I  felt  nettled  that  your  strategy  at  T.e.K. 
had  drawn  no  greater  praise  from  the  Duke  of  Connaught  than 
that  you  were  not  "  fussy."  It  would  be  Uke  telling  Mrs. 
Langtry  that  she  was  not  plain  by  way  of  a  comphment.  How- 
ever, on  observing  the  date  to  be  26th  September,  I  am  sure 
he  had  in  previous  letters  to  the  Queen  discussed  the  battle  and 
enumerated  your  strategic  quahties,  and  this  was  only  his 
opinion  of  you  in  the  quiet  of  garrison  hfe  at  Cairo,  for  I  know 
how  well  he  thinks  of  you,  and  you  of  him.  I  can't  call  you  a 
fussy  Uttle  (jeneral  now  ! 

In  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Goschen  she  says  she  thinks  W.  E.  G. 
wishes  to  do  what  is  right  by  you.  She  does  not  add  whether  he 
will  be  able.  I  have  no  patience  with  a  Prime  Minister  who  is 
not  able  to  do  what  is  right.  He  has  no  more  power  than  an 
M.P. 


1 883 

[During  the  year  1883  Lord  Wolseley  continued  to  carry  out 
the  duties  of  Adjutant-General.  In  May  he  was  invited  by 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  to  be  the  General  Officer 
to  accompany  them  to  Russia  for  the  Coronation  ceremonies  of 
the  Emperor  Alexander  11.] 


CHAPTER  IX 

Wilton  House,  Salisbury, 
Tuesday,  2nd  January  1883. 
Lord  Every  one  here  asks  after  you ;   I  hope  I  may  hear  from 

Wolseley.  y^^  to-morrow,  so  that  I  may  be  able  to  answer  their  "  kind 
inquiries."  We  have  had  a  very  good  day's  shooting,  although 
one  very  heavy  rainstorm  rather  marred  symmetry  (how  I 
spell ! )  of  my  shooting  costume.  We  have  here  Sutherlands, 
Reggy  Talbots,^  and  I  think  her  sister ;  Mrs.  Cyril  Flower  2 
and  her  sister,  Mrs.  Yorke,  Mr.  Henry  Cowper  (whom  you  may 
remember  at  Ashridge),  Lord  Cairns 's  eldest  son.  Lady  Herbert  ^ 
(our  host's  mother),  Mr.  Groban,  who  plays  and  sings  well, 
David  Plunkett,  a  leading  Conservative  M.P.  for  Ireland,  who 
is  very  charming,  and  a  young  girl  whose  name  I  have  not  yet 
arrived  at.  They  have  a  veritable  lock  of  Queen  Elizabeth's 
hair  here,  enclosed  in  a  paper  endorsed  by  Sir  Philip  Sidney, 
"  Given  to  me  by  the  greatest  of  all  Queens  when  I  presented 
Her  with  a  copy  of  my  verses,"  or  words  to  that  effect. 

I  have  engaged  myself  to  dine  at  the  Reform  Club  next 
Saturday  with  Mr.  Nineteenth-Century  Knowles  ^  to  meet  some 
interesting  men,  so  please  record  me. 

1  Later  General  the  Hon.  Sir  Reginald  Talbot  and  Lady  Talbot. 

*  Afterwards  Lady  Battersea. 

'  Lady  Herbert  of  Lea,  mother  of  Earl  of  Pembroke. 

*  Afterwards  Sir  James  Knowles — ^first  editor  of  Nineteenth  Century. 

94 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY    95 

Wilton  House,  Salisbury, 
;^rd  January  1883. 

I  have  had  the  enclosed  note  from  the  Queen  :  quite  feeUngly      Lord 
expressed  and  nice.     She  was  evidently  not  offended  at  what  I      °^^^>' 
said  about  Prince  Albert  in  my  last  note  to  her. 

Mrs.  Flower  and  her  sister  left  to-day.  The  former  means 
to  pay  you  a  visit  when  passing  through  London  ;  I  like  her 
more  and  more  each  time  I  meet  her.  I  have  told  Mr.  Hopkins 
to  go  to  my  room  to  open  a  dispatch-box  for  a  paper  that  is 
wanted  :  please  tell  your  numerous  footmen  that  he  is  to  be 
allowed  to  do  this. 

The  enclosed  mysterious  telegram  does  not,  I  hope,  suggest 
me  for  Surveyor-General  of  the  Ordnance. 

In  the  Train, 

Friday  Evening — getting  near  to  Berlin, 

iSth  May  1883. 

The  farther  I  get  from  home  the  more  I  feel  you  are  indis-  Lord 
pensable  to  my  happiness.  Hitherto  whenever  I  have  left  ^oiseiey. 
you  it  has  been  for  duty ;  now  I  am  merely  going  to  a  show 
which  will  not  even  amuse  me  very  much.  Writing  in  an 
express  train  is  not  easy,  and  spelling  more  difficult  even  than 
usual.  I  hope  to  post  this  at  Berlin.  The  Duchess  is  very 
good  humoured  and  with  a  sense  of  humour.  Lady  Harriet  ^  is 
intelligent  and  anxious  to  please.  Lord  Clanwilliam  2  very  nice, 
but  something  of  an  invalid.  We  are  to  pick  up  a  German 
equerry  at  Berlin,  who  goes  to  Moscow  with  us. 

Moscow,  Monday,  21st  May  1883. 

We  arrived  here  this  morning ;  by  no  means  a  tiresome  Lord 
journey.  I  should  have  preferred  some  time  to  myself,  but  one  ^°^^^^^' 
must  take  the  drawbacks  along  with  the  pleasures  in  this  life. 
We  ate  and  smoked  and  slept  and  played  whist,  but  our  chief 
occupation  was  eating  ;  the  habit  grows  on  one  very  quickly, 
for  I  already  feel  unnaturally  hungry,  although  I  ate  two  eggs 
for  breakfast.     We  were  met  at   the   Railroad  Station  by  a 

'  Lady  Harriet  Grimston,  daughter  of  second  Earl  of  Verulam,  Lady-in- 
Waiting  to  the  Duchess  of  Edinburgh. 

*  Fourth  Earl  of  Clanwilliam,  appointed  Admiral  of  the  Fleet,  1895. 


Wolseley, 


96  THE  LETTERS  OF 

guard  of  honour  and  any  number  of  Grand  Dukes,  all  of  whom 
kissed  their  sister.  Alas,  Clanwilliam  and  I  were  sent  to  an 
hotel  and  not  to  the  Kremlin,  as  had  been  originally  intended. 
The  only  rooms  available  were  finally  not  considered  good 
enough.  We  had  to  put  on  full  dress  to  arrive  in,  and 
already  we  have  been  to  the  palace  outside  the  town  to  be 
presented  to  the  Czar  and  his  wife. 

Moscow, 
Tuesday,  22nd  May  1883. 

Lord  What  a  beautiful  coronet,  but  what  a  very  ugly  monogram 

Clanwilliam  has  !    During  our  journey  a  never-ending  subject 

of  chaff  was  a  silver  cigarette-case  presented  by  Mrs. to 

the  Duke  upon  his  departure.  It  had  what  looked  as  if  it  had 
been  a  brooch  fastened  on  it,  in  pearls,  with  an  inscription 
in  diamonds  :  "  Good  luck.''  The  Duchess  said  she  could  not 
be  rendered  jealous,  and  I  believe  she  was  right,  for  I  could  never 

**  draw  "  her,  although  I  did  my  best.     If  Mrs. could  have 

heard  the  Duke's  remarks  on  the  subject  I  do  not  think  she  would 
have  felt  proud.  The  Duchess  professed  to  regard  her  as  so 
very  passee  as  to  be  beyond  all  suspicion.  She  said  she  had 
been  very  pretty,  and  that  the  King  of  Greece  had  raved  about 
her  for  some  time,  and  also  two  of  her  Grand  Ducal  brothers. 
I  shall  have  plenty  to  tell  you  when  I  return  home,  but  I  do 
not  like  putting  anything  but  ordinary  conventionalities  on 
paper,  as  we  are  surrounded  by  spies  and  police,  who,  it  is  said, 
open  our  letters,  etc.  etc. 

Last  night  I  went  to  the  baUet  with  Colonel  Primrose,^  who 
is  here  to  see  the  sights  ;  it  was  very  good,  the  dancing  extremely 
amusing.  The  theatre  about  twice  as  large  as  our  opera- 
house.     I  am  almost  sure  that  in  the  next  box  was ,  who 

I  know  lives  in  Russia.  However,  she  either  did  not  or  would 
not  recognise  me. 

.  .  .  To-day  we  are  to  take  part  in  the  grand  procession  of 
the  Czar  entering  Moscow.  I  am  to  ride  with  the  Duke  of 
Edinburgh  or  somewhere  in  his  vicinity.  Clanwilliam  goes 
in  a  carriage,  and  I  wish  I  were  to  be  with  him  ;  however,  one 
must  do  as  one  is  told. 

^  Colonel  the  Hon.  Everard  Primrose,  military  attach^  [at  ^Vienna, 
brother  of  fifth  Earl  of  Rosebery ;  died  on  active  service  in  the  Soudan, 
February  1885. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  97 

Moscow,  2^rd  May  1883. 

In  a  very  brief  interval  allowed  for  rest  and  quiet  /  seize  Lord 
my  pen,  as  the  writers  of  letters  intended  for  publication  always  ^^^^^i^V' 
put  it,  to  commune  with  you  as  I  cannot  do  so  in  person.  I 
am  glad  you  are  spared  all  this  racketing,  it  would  bore  you 
morally  if  it  did  not  kill  you  physically  with  fatigue.  Last 
night  I  dined  in  plain  clothes  in  the  Kremlin  with  the  house- 
hold. Our  dining-room  was  low,  with  vaulted  roof,  and  all 
covered  with  curious  old  Russian  sacred  pictures  :  it  is  part  of 
the  very  oldest  building  in  the  Kremlin,  and  was  the  room 
in  which  the  Czars  used  to  dine.  The  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
Edinburgh  dined  with  the  Czar  in  morning  dress,  and  I  had  to 
be  at  the  Duchess's  rooms  at  ten  to  play  penny  whist  until  past 
midnight. 

Yesterday's  procession  was  rather  fatiguing,  but  very  inter- 
esting. We  left  the  hotel  about  10  a.m.  in  undress  uniform, 
but  owing  to  the  immense  crowds  and  as  many  of  the  streets 
were  blocked,  all  trafi&c  being  prohibited,  we  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  reaching  the  palace  in  the  Kremlin.  We  had  quite 
as  much  difficulty  in  getting  back,  although  we  had  a  Royal 
footman  in  gorgeous  scarlet  on  the  box  and  an  officer  of  mounted 
police  riding  beside  us.  When  I  say  us,  I  mean  Clanwilliam 
and  myself.  We  were  just  in  time  to  bundle  on  full  uniform  and 
return  to  the  Kremlin  to  accompany  the  Duke  and  Duchess 
to  the  Petroffski  Palace,  where  the  Czar  was  staying.  We 
started  from  the  palace  at  2  p.m.,  I  on  horseback.  They 
gave  me  a  very  nice  Uttle  horse,  but  he  was  so  fresh  that 
he  never  walked  a  step  all  day,  but  jogged  and  jogged  until 
at  last  he  jogged  the  centre  out  of  my  Grand  Osmanli  order, 
a  fact  I  did  not  discover  until  late  in  the  day. 


Moscow,  24/A  May  1883. 

I  went  with  the  Duchess  this  morning  to  see  the  grand  new  Lord 
cathedral,  begun  in  1837,  and  to  be  consecrated  next  week,  ^^^^^^v- 
It  is  beautiful  in  every  little  detail.  I  was  to  have  gone  this 
afternoon  to  some  curiosity  shops  with  Prince  Bariatinsky, 
who  is  my  bear-leader  and  a  great  collector,  but  the  Czar  put 
him  under  a  three  days'  arrest  yesterday  because  he  rode  in 
a  saddle  which  was  of  an  old  pattern  regulation  the  day  of  the 
7 


98  THE  LETTERS  OF 

grand  entry  into  the  city.  The  silver  plate  in  the  Kremlin  is 
magnificent,  and  some  of  the  finest  things  were  presents  from 
Queen  Elizabeth.     What  a  place  to  loot ! 

We  have  had  heavy  showers  at  night,  but  the  days  are 
hot  and  the  air  clear  and  pure,  unloaded  with  smoke  of  any 
kind.  As  I  look  over  the  city  from  this  palace  not  a  chimney 
gives  forth  any  smoke,  and  it  would  seem  as  if  no  cooking 
took  place  anywhere.  However,  I  am  told  that  dinners  for 
fourteen  hundred  are  prepared  in  the  Kremhn  daily  at  present. 


\  ^'  Moscow,  26th  May  1883. 

Lord  I  have  just  returned  from  someJiDric-a-brac  shops  :  nothing 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  good V  and  everything  very  dear.  We  completed  our 
investigation  o^f  the  gremlin  tKis  morning ;  the  old  robes 
of  the  early  seventeenth  century  were  lovely  and  curious  ; 
masses  of  pearls  covered  them  in  every  direction,  with  here 
and  there  some  fine  emeralds  and  other  precious  stones. 
The  embroidery  was  magnificent,  and  the-stuffe  woven  in 
lovely  patterns. 

I^st  night  at  the  British  Embassy  the  dinner  was  heavy 
and  the  society  dull.  We  went  to  the  opera  afterwards  ;  the 
Demon,  the  most  uninteresting  opera  I  have  ever  listened  to, 
was  given.  Of  course  the  Duchess  was  bored,  and  we  came 
home  early  and  played  shilling  whist  until  midnight.  At  the 
opera  she  sits  with  the  Grand  Dukes  and  Duchesses  in  a  large 
baignoire  close  to  the  stage  ;  we  humble  fry  go  to  a  box  immedi- 
ately opposite  the  stage  in  the  centre  of  the  house ;  it  is  the 
Emperor's  State  Box,  and  has  large  suites  of  drawing-rooms 
attached  to  it.  The  theatre  seems  enormous,  the  stage  being 
made  of  extra  size  for  the  ballets  so  much  in  favour  in  Russia. 
One  gets  tired  of  a  pantomime  all  the  evening,  even  though 
the  dancing  is  very  good  and  the  scenic  effects  well  wrought 
out.  The  Duchess  drives  out  almost  daily  to  the  palace  where 
the  Czar  is  staying  to  have  a  country  walk  and  pick  wild 
flowers  ;  her  brothers  all  devoted  to  her.  Grand  Dukes  abound 
here.  Constantine,  who  has  been  so  long  in  disgrace  for  having 
made  so  much  money  by  means  of  contracts  for  the  navy,  has 
been  again  received.  It  is  said  that  he  has  spent  the  large  fortune 
he  so  accumulated  on  a  French  lady,  as  well  as  the  money 


Wolselev. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  99 

that  had  been  settled  on  his  children.  I  don't  much  like  telling 
you  this  in  a  letter,  for  one  never  knows  how  much  of  one's 
correspondence  is  opened  and  read  in  passing  through  the  post 
here.  One  of  the  Grand  Duchesses,  who  is  a  German,  fell  into 
dire  disgrace  some  years  ago  for  the  free  manner  in  which  she 
wrote  to  her  friends  regarding  affairs  at  Court  here,  her  letters 
having  been  read  before  they  reached  their  destination. 


The  Kremlin,  Moscow, 
Sunday,  2yth  May  1883. 

The  great  event  is  over :  the  Czar  was  successfully  crowned  ^^^^ord 
to-day,  or  rather  he  crowned  himself.     For  nearly  eight  hours 
we  were  on  our  legs,  and  my  poor  wounded  limbs  are  aching 
in  every  nerve.     Everything  went  off  extremely  well,  the  only 
bore  was  the  length  of  the  church  service  ;  the  singing  was 
excellent,  the  voices  very  fine  and  the  service  very  good,  but  it 
seemed  as  if  it  never  would  come  to  an  end.      In  the  middle 
of   the  crowning  the  rays  of  a  strong  sun  coming  through 
windows  far  up  in  the  vaulted  roof  struck  down  upon  the  Czar 
and  those  immediately  around  him.     After  the  '*  work  "  in  the 
church  we  had  a  grand  dejeuner  or  dinner  about  4.30  p.m.  in 
a  small  room  with  low,  vaulted  ceiling,  where  the  Czar  and 
his  wife  sat  aloft  on  thrones  and  were  served  by  the  highest 
functionaries    of   the    Court.      In     removing    two    glasses    of 
champagne  one  fell  and  was  broken  on  the  steps  of  the  throne, 
rather  an   ugly  augury  for  the  superstitious.     To-night   the 
whole  city  is  ablaze  with  illuminations,  and  the  howling  of  the 
masses  in  the  gardens  beneath  my  window  swells  into  a  roar 
like  that  of  jackals,  reminding  me  of  the  discordant  cheers  the 
Russian  soldiers  used  to  indulge  in  before  Sebastopol  in  their 
night  sorties.     Against  this  must  be  set  the  beauty  and  rhythm 
of  the  great  church  bells. 

In  a  curiosity  shop  Clanwilliam  set  his  affections  on  a  silver 
drinking-cup  that  had  been  presented  to  Peter  the  Great.  The 
man  asked  £40,  and  would  not  accept  Clanwilliam 's  offer  of 
£30.  I  admired  a  little  old  box  about  the  size  of  an  orange, 
in  real  old  Russian  enamel,  very  quaint.  As  the  villain  asked 
£25  I  thought  nothing  more  about  it ;  but  we  talked  of  our 
"  objets  "  in  the  evening.  The  Duchess,  to  our  surprise,  gave 
them  to  us  this  morning. 


100  THE  LETTERS  OF 


Moscow, 
2(^th  May  (i  a.m.). 

Lord  Yesterday,  after  a  sort   of  levee   in    the   forenoon,  there 

^^^'  was  a  grand  reception  at  9.30  p.m.  At  the  former  the 
Emperor  viewed  the  deputations  sent  to  him  from  all  parts 
of  his  wide  dominions.  Cossacks  from  the  Volga,  Tekkies 
from  Askabad  and  Merv,  and  wild-looking  men  representing 
far-distant  provinces,  of  which  few  even  have  ever  heard. 
Most  of  these  fellows  had  numerous  decorations  that  had  been 
sent  to  them  by  the  Czar,  and  some  even  wore  Russian  uniform. 
The  Grand  Duchesses'  toilettes  were  stiff  with  gold  and  silver 
embroidery.  In  the  morning  the  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  wore 
a  blue  velvet  train  embroidered  with  jewels ;  in  the  evening, 
her  wedding  dress.  The  evening  ceremony  took  place  in  the 
low,  vaulted  old  throne-room.  All  the  women  being  in  trains, 
dancing  was  out  of  the  question  ;  but  they  marched  along 
two  and  two,  holding  hands,  in  what  was  called  a  polonaise. 
They  looked  rather  foolish,  but  one  is  glad  for  old  customs  to 
be  maintained. 

The  Duke  of  Edinburgh  gave  us  luncheon  yesterday  in 
Russian  fashion  at  the  best  restaurant — a  regular  Russian 
luncheon.  The  cooking  here  is  very  good,  and  Russians  seem 
to  eat  enormously  ;  how  their  insides  can  hold  all  they  cram 
into  their  mouths  I  know  not. 

To-day's  work  begins  with  another  reception  and  formal 
presentation.  If  he  receives  to-day  as  many  silver  plates 
and  dishes  as  he  did  yesterday,  he  must  build  a  new  house 
for  them.  I  was  astonished  at  the  costliness  of  the  presents 
brought  from  Garrard's  by  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh  for  officers 
of  the  Emperor's  Household.  One  a  huge  cup  with  cover, 
£300  ;  then  a  pair  of  pilgrim  bottles  the  same — I  should  say 
at  least  £1600  worth  of  plate.  I  hear  we  are  all  to  have 
decorations  ;  mine  will  be  a  high  one,  as  I  have  the  highest 
order  of  the  Bath ;  but  it  will  not  be  of  much  use,  as  I  shall 
not  be  allowed  by  the  Queen  to  wear  it. 

Every  one  is  most  kind,  but  the  more  I  see  of  Court  Ufe 
the  more  I  feel  its  demoralising  influence ;  imperceptibly,  but 
irresistibly,  it  makes  one  a  Har,  and  at  least  in  my  case  would 
rob  me  of  real  self-respect. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOr'SEtE-V  na 

Moscow, 
2gth  May. 

To-day  a  great  levee,  which  lasted  for  hours.    We  were  all      Lord 
presented  by  ranks — military,  I  mean ;  so   I  was  the  fourth  ^°^^^^' 
person   who  marched  past  the  Emperor.     You  shake  hands 
with  the  Czar  and  kiss  the  Empress's  hand  without  bending 
the  knee. 

The  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  tells  me  the  Empress  is  not 
enceinte,  as  is  reported.  Her  Majesty  looked  so  well  to-day, 
and  such  diamonds  ! !  She  wears  two  long  repentir  curls,  which 
are  not  in  my  opinion  very  becoming.  Her  general  appearance 
is  very  like  that  of  the  Princess  of  Wales ;  but  she  is  by  no 
means  or  in  any  way  as  pretty. 

^oth  May, 

I  never  was  in  such  a  crowd  as  at  the  ball  last  night  ;  the      Lord 
floors  must  be  very  strong  indeed  to  have  stood  the  weight      ^^^^' 
imposed  on  them.    I  struggled  into  the  ballroom,  and  scrambled 
out  in  the  wake  of  some  great  lady  who  had  a  passage  made  for 
her  exit. 

I  cannot  find  out  what  the  intended  movements  of  our 
"  party  "  are,  but  I  think  the  Court  remains  here  for  another 
week  longer  and  then  goes  to  Petersburg.  I  shall  go  straight 
home,  I  think,  from  here  ;  Clanwilliam,  being  a  man  of  leisure* 
will  go  on  with  the  Duke  and  Duchess  to  Petersburg. 

To-day  there  is  to  be  a  general  reception  of  ladies,  a  sort 
of  "  Drawing-room,"  so  I  hope  to  get  out  for  a  stretch  some- 
where by  myself.  I  long  for  some  out-of-door  exercise  without 
having  any  one  to  jabber  to.  The  language  being  a  sealed  book 
is  a  great  drawback  to  enjoyment  here.  The  shops  are  un- 
attractive, no  attempt  at  "window-dressing."  The  women  of 
all  classes  are  ugly.  You  never  see  even  a  passably  good-looking 
woman  in  the  streets,  and  almost  aU  the  women  I  have  seen  at 
Court  are  plain,  with  sallow,  pasty,  tallow-candle-like  complex- 
ions. The  Queen  of  Greece  ^  is  by  far  the  best -looking  woman 
here.  Her  sister,  a  widow  of  Wiirtemberg,  is  said  to  be  very 
clever  ;  anyhow,  she  writes  poetry  and  cuts  her  hair  short. 
When  any  male  creature  imagines  himself  to  be  a  poet,  he  lets 
his  hair  grow  long ;  when  a  woman  fancies  she  is  inspired  beyond 
^  Queen  Olga,  at  present  Queen  Dowager. 


.-.  :^d^:..:  \' :;  ;     ]  •      THE  LETTERS  OF 

the  general  run  of  her  sex,  she  at  once  proceeds  to  cut  off  her 
back  hair  and  wears  it  short  Hke  a  boy  !  !  The  idiosyncrasies 
of  genius,  perhaps,  you  will  say.  I  call  it  the  vanity  of  small- 
minded  people. 

Sist  May  1883. 

d  Just  returned  from  a  long  drive  to  Sparrow  Hill  (I  don't 

'^^''  know  the  Russian  equivalent),  from  which  Napoleon  first 
caught  sight  of  the  Kremlin.  A  wild,  wooded  spot  on  the 
Moscova  River;  my  interest  in  it  is  solely  derived  from  its 
association  with  Napoleon.  Three  carriages  conveyed  us  :  in 
the  first,  drawn  by  four  horses  abreast,  was  the  Queen  of  Greece, 
the  Duchess  of  Edinburgh,  the  reigning  Prince  of  Montenegro, 
and  your  husband ;  in  the  second.  Prince  Bariatinsky,  by  him- 
self, in  a  carriage  drawn  by  three  horses  abreast.  (He  is  the 
A.D.C.  of  the  Emperor,  who  has  been  told  off  to  look  after 
Clan  William  and  myself.)  In  the  third  was  Lady  Harriet, 
Colonel  Clarke  (qui  lui  fait  la  cour),  and  the  German  equerry, 
Heile.  We  went  at  a  rattling  pace,  over  extremely  badly  paved 
roads,  so  it  was  almost  impossible  to  hear  anything  that  was  said. 
The  Prince  of  Montenegro  dresses  in  a  sort  of  bandit  costume, 
his  coat  of  white  cloth  embroidered  with  gold.  He  devoted 
himself  to  the  Duchess,  and  makes  what  she  calls  "  declara- 
tions "  to  her  of  the  most  impassioned  nature.  This  morning 
he  sent  her  for  me  the  gold  war  medal  of  his  country,  which 
I  have  worn  all  day  in  his  honour.  He  wrote  her  a  magniloquent 
letter  in  French,  which  I  have  kept  to  show  you,  in  which  he 
calls  me  the  "  Scipion  Anglais,"  and  begged  her  to  fasten  it 
upon  my  poitrine.  He  is  a  very  fine-looking  man,  very  brown 
in  complexion,  and  perhaps  about  my  age. 

On  our  way  back  we  had  tea  at  the  Alexander  Palace,  where 
the  Empress  goes  daily  to  see  her  children.  The  baby,  who  is 
about  twelve  months  old,  has  an  English  nurse.  The  Empress 
is  very  simple  with  all  her  dignity.  Last  night  we  had  a  gala 
at  the  opera,  only  guests  of  the  Czar  being  admitted.  This 
evening  a  State  dinner  at  6.30.  After  that  a  ball  given  by  the 
noblesse  of  Moscow  to  the  Czar.  I  went  to  see  the  splendid 
presentation  salver  and  salt-cellars  presented  to  the  Czar. 
The  various  governments  and  great  towns  have  given  salvers 
and  salt-cellars — about  200 — fine  workmanship  but  rather 
flamboyant  for  you  or  me. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  103 

2nd  June  1883. 

Madame  Novikoff  has  found  me  out  here.     She  began  by     Lord 
sending  me  a  message  to  say  how  anxious  she  was  to  see  me,  ^^^^^V' 
to  which  I  paid  no  attention,  but,  unfortunately,  I  stumbled 
on  her  at  the  ball  last  night  and  had  great  difficulty  in  shaking 
myself  clear  of  her.     She  asked  most  affectionately  after  you 
and  your  "  charming  Uttle  daughter." 

The  Duke  of  Edinburgh  has  given  me  a  very  handsome  sugar 
basin,  stand,  and  spoon,  with  an  inscription  in  old  Russian 
characters :  "  Our  ancestors  Uved  simply  and  lived  a  hundred 
years."  He  and  I  are  on  the  best  terms,  but  whether  he  will 
disfavour  me  by  and  by  remains  to  be  seen.  I  am  anxious  to 
hear  about  my  £30,000.  I  saw  that  the  G.O.M.  said  lately  he 
meant  to  bring  it  forward  this  week,  and  that  the  notoriety- 
seeking  buffoon,  Sir  W.  Lawson,  meant  to  oppose  it.  I  am  so 
glad  a  lump  sum  has  been  substituted  for  a  pension,  for  I 
confess  I  have  such  Uttle  confidence  in  the  present  Government 
that  I  should  never  feel  certain  one's  pension  might  not  at 
any  moment  be  stopped.  I  shall  be  curious  to  learn  how  old 
"  Pass  me  the  salt  "  ^  has  behaved  towards  you. 

2nd  June  1883  [evening). 

At  the  Grand  Marechal's  just  now  I  met  the  two  young  Lord 
Grand  Dukes,  the  Czar's  sons.  Although  the  father  is  so  tall,  ^°^^^^' 
both  these  young  princes  are  small.  The  eldest  is  fifteen  years 
of  age,  and  seemed  a  nice  boy.  I  talked  for  some  time  to  his 
tutor,  an  Englishman  from  Cambridge,  who  has  lived  for  thirty 
years  in  Russia.  He  spoke  in  the  most  glowing  terms  of  his 
pupils,  who,  I  believe,  are  devoted  to  their  master.  The  eldest 
speaks  EngUsh  perfectly,  and  reads  Walter  Scott's  novels  with 
the  greatest  pleasure.  To-day  I  drove  with  all  our  party  to 
the  Petroffeki  Palace  to  see  the  crowd  fed.  Dinners  were  pre- 
pared in  Httle  baskets  to  the  extent  of  350,000 ;  each  person 
receiving  their  Uttle  basket  fuU  of  eatables,  and  an  earthenware 
mug.  There  were  over  32  tons  weight  of  goodies  distributed. 
Temporary  theatres  were  erected,  in  which  Uttle  plays  were 
given.  The  Empress  looked  quite  pretty ;  she  is  always 
accompanied  by  a  young  brother  who  is  in  the  Danish  Navy. 
I  don't  know  how  it  is  managed,  but  one  never  sees  a  drunken 
^  A  nickname  for  Lord  Tennyson,  Poet  Laureate. 


104  THE  LETTERS  OF 

person  in  the  streets,  though  drink  is  supposed  to  be  the  curse 
of  the  Russian  nation. 

You  remember  General  Scobeleff  who  died  last  year  :  a 
young  general  who  did  great  things — a  bom  leader  of  men  : 
was  made  much  of  by  every  one  and  adored  by  the  soldiers, 
with,  of  course,  jealous  and  envious  detractors.  I  always  took 
the  deepest  interest  in  everytliing  concerning  him,  and,  to  my 
great  pleasure,  have  been  told  by  his  brother-in-law  that  he 
took  similar  interest  in  me.  Scobeleff 's  two  sisters  were  great 
beauties  and  made  great  marriages  :  I  don't  admire  either  of 
them ;  the  better  looking  of  the  two  paints  under  her  eyes  and 
is  dreadfully  "  got  up."  Such  a  lovely  bunch  of  lilies  of  the 
valley  on  my  table  which  the  Queen  of  Greece  gave  me  the  other 
day  when  we  were  mooning  about  the  grounds  of  the  Alexander 
Palace  ;  they  grow  wild  in  every  wood  here,  but  have  quite  as 
much  perfume  as  those  grown  in  gardens  at  home. 


Moscow,  6th  June  1883. 

I  have  spent  all  the  day  in  the  country,  where  we  went  to  see 
the  monastery  of  Saint  Serge.     He  was  an  old  sweep,  bom  about 
the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  lived  in  dirt  and 
filth  for  years,  and  was  regarded  as  a  most  holy  man.     The 
convent  is  enclosed  in  walls  like  the  Kremlin,  both  of  these 
places  being  fortified  very  much  in  the  fashion  of  Chinese  towns. 
The  convent  is  very  rich  in  lands  as  well  as  treasures,  and  feeds 
daily  from  3000  to    4000   pilgrims.      The  monks  gave  us  a 
good  luncheon,  and  would  not  take  anything  in  return  ;    also 
making  us  several  presents  of  little  saints,  pictures,  and  small 
loaves  of  bread.    I  saw  at  the  convent  to-day  the  first  out-of-door 
clock  I  can  remember  having  seen  since  I  entered  Russia.    Here, 
where  the  earth  is  cumbered  with  churches  and  public  buildings, 
there  is  not  one  clock  to  be  seen,  although  there  are  bells  in  every 
direction,  and  such  good  bells  too.     To-morrow  there  is  to  be 
a  consecration   of   a  new   cathedral,   built   to   commemorate 
Napoleon's  defeat  in  Russia  in  18 12.     I  have  just  arranged 
not  to  go  there,  for  it  will  be  a  very  long  dreary  affair  of  about 
four  hours'  duration,  and  I  have  seen  everything  of  interest  in 
the  church.     Ever5rtliing  here  is  essentially  military  :   the  poor 
devil  of  a  civilian  is  nowhere.     In  fact,  the  Ambassador  and  all 
his  suite  in  Russia  should  be  military  ;  but  John  Bull  imagines 


LORD  AND^LADY  WOLSELEY  105 

nothing  can  be  well  done  by  any  man  who  has  ever  worn  a  red 
coat.  Talking  of  coats  reminds  me  that  the  Emperor  here  has 
completely  changed  the  whole  of  the  Russian  uniforms,  con- 
verting what  was  a  Prussianised  dress  into  an  entirely  national 
costume.  There  I  think  he  was  quite  right.  The  men  are 
dressed  very  plainly,  but  there  is  nothing  at  all  smart  in  their 
appearance.  All  ranks  of  all  arms  of  the  service  wear  long 
boots  up  to  the  knee,  which  every  man  who  can  afford  to  have 
boots  at  all  in  Russia  wears. 

I  have  bought  a  lot  of  cretonne  :  the  groundwork  is  a  very 
deep  red,  the  common  colour  of  the  peasants'  gowns  ;  the 
pattern  has  sunflowers  on  it.  I  thought  it  would  do  well  if  we 
ever  established  ourselves  in  the  Aldershot  huts.  I  am  sure 
you  will  laugh  at  my  purchase,  and  think  of  Moses  and  his 
green  spectacles. 

8^A/w«gi883. 

Last  night  I  received  a  telegram  from  Robert  Meade  of  the  Lord 
Colonial  Office  asking  me  to  break  to  ClanwiUiam  that  his  ^^^^^^y- 
father-in-law.  Sir  A.  Kennedy,  had  died  on  his  way  home  from 
Australia.  He  is  terribly  cut  up  on  his  wife's  account,  to 
whom  he  is  absolutely  devoted.  He  never  has  an  hour  entirely 
free  from  pain,  from  a  wound  received  in  China  in  1858.  I 
like  him  so  much,  there  is  everything  really  good  and  natural 
about  him. 

My  breath  was  taken  away  by  a  present  from  the  Czar — a 
gold  snuff-box,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  his  miniature  set  in 
diamonds,  with  six  large  diamonds  set  in  it.  The  like  is  given 
to  ClanwiUiam,  because  we  were  not  allowed  to  accept  one  of 
the  Czar's  decorations.  Things  are  certainly  done  here  en  Rot, 
nothing  "small"  about  the  presents  given  or  the  scale  upon 
which  men  are  rewarded. 


The  Palace  at  Peterhof,  near  Petersburg, 
10th  June  1883. 

We  left  Moscow  last  night  at  10  p.m.  by  special  train  and '  'Lord 
reached  this  place  at  2  p.m.     There  is  a  large  palace  here  which  ^o^'^^^v- 
is  only  used  for  State  affairs  ;  the  Emperor  lives  in  a  "  cottage," 
and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  in  another,  and  the  Suite — fancy 
me  part  of  any  Royal  suite — in  another  ;    there  seem  dozens 


io6  THE  LETTERS  OF 

of  villa-palaces,  surrounded  by  woods  sloping  down  to  the  sea. 
Fountains  and  cascades  are  to  be  heard  and  seen  at  every  turn  ; 
the  people  can  walk  about  freely  except  near  the  Emperor's 
place,  which  is  strictly  guarded  by  police  and  soldiers.  Coming 
here,  the  railroad  was  guarded  by  some  18,000  troops,  posted 
at  regular  intervals  along  the  hne. 

This  is  the  loveliest  of  spots,  but  the  mosquitoes  are  terrible. 
The  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  has  lived  here  for  so  many  years  she 
has  become  accustomed  to  them.  She  took  me  to  see  a  model 
toy  dairy  she  owned  as  a  child  ;  she  had  also  a  model  flour  mill 
turned  by  a  water-wheel,  and  summer-houses,  all  models  of 
bigger  places,  with  model  furniture,  and  a  small  dinner-service 
all  marked  with  her  monogram.  A  charming  little  stream 
that  turned  the  mill  meandered  through  a  wooded  dell,  with 
little  rustic  bridges  over  it.  Altogether  it  is  a  sort  of  Elysium 
for  a  child.     How  Frances  would  enjoy  it  ! 


Peterhof  Palace,  12th  June, 

^ord  I  am  just  starting  by  steamer  for  Petersburg,  there  to  spend 

^  ^^  ^^'  the  day  in  sightseeing.  We  go  from  this  in  the  Emperor's  steam 
yacht  :  it  is  just  an  hour's  steaming  there  from  this  place  ; 
the  Duke  goes  with  us,  but  not  the  Duchess.  Last  night,  after 
dinner,  at  10  p.m.  as  usual.  Count  Landsdorff — ^who  is  the 
Czar's  A.D.C.  attached  to  the  Duke — Captain  Heile,  and  myself 
repaired  to  the  house  occupied  by  the  Duke  and  Duchess  to 
play  whist ;  the  Royal  people  had  dined  with  the  Emperor  at 
9  p.m.,  having  been  out  with  him  and  the  Empress  in  a  char- 
a-banc  for  a  country  drive  before  their  dinner.  The  house 
the  Edinburghs  occupy  is  built  close  to  one  formerly  lived  in 
by  the  late  Czar,  and  was,  in  fact,  the  dairy  belonging  to  it. 
In  a  few  minutes  after  our  arrival  the  Duchess  and  the  Empress 
and  her  brother  drove  up.  Two  whist  tables  were  formed  : 
at  mine  were  the  Empress,  the  Duchess,  and  the  amiable,  if 
not  highly  gifted,  Danish  prince. 

Phcenix  Park,  Dublin, 

29/7/1883. 

v/^fu  ^  enclose  a  note  from  the  old  Aunts  which  I  found  waiting 

o  se  ey.  £^j,  ^^  ^^^^      J  think  you  ought  to  write  to  them  at  once — I  ^ 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  107 

wish  we  could  do  something  to  please  them.  I  shall  send  them 
the  two  Uttle  boxes  I  brought  for  them ;  please  say  in  your 
letter. 

We  have  had  a  man's  dinner  here  this  evening ;  Chief  Justice 
Morris  sat  next  to  me.  I  wish  my  banquet  were  over,  for  I 
dread  making  a  speech  more  than  usually.  I  grow  more 
nervous  with  each  effort  to  speak.  Being  unsentimental, 
practical,  and,  I  think,  sincere,  I  can  never  swallow  the 
humbug  and  insincerity  with  which  after-dinner  orations 
abound.  I  feel  my  own  self-respect  lessened  every  time  I 
make  a  conventional  speech. 

War  Office,  2nd  October  1883. 

I  had  a  dinner-party  last  night — eight  men  at  the  Army  and     Lord 
Navy  Club.  ^'^''^'y- 

As  I  drove  up  to  Hill  Street  yesterday  I  saw  on  the 
doorstep  Prince  Bariatinsky,  who  was  so  kind  to  me  in 
Russia.  What  could  I  do  but  ask  him  to  dinner  ?  He 
accepted,  and  then  I  had  to  run  about  to  try  and  get  men  to 
meet  him.  However,  this  office  provided  nearly  all  the  six 
men  I  wanted  ;  they  were  Generals  Herbert, ^  Harman,^  Reillie,^ 
Redvers  Buller,  Sir  C.  Brownlow,*  and  a  Colonel  Chapman  from 
India.     Rather  sporting  of  me,  was  it  not  ! 

How  I  hate  this  place  now  that  I  am  in  it !  I  was  to  have 
gone  to  Colchester  with  H.R.H.  to-morrow,  but  find  that  all 
my  clothes  are  with  you,  so  I  have  cried  off. 

The  Hotel,  Freshwater, 
20th  May  1883. 

We  made  our  little  journey  very  pleasantly  yesterday,  via  ^^^/^y 
Portsmouth,  Ryde,  and  Newport,  and  drove  from  Newport  here 
(about  12  miles)  through  banks  of  primroses  and  violets,  woods 
of  bluebells,  and  downs  of  golden  gorse.  The  place  is  just  as 
quiet  and  rural  as  when  you  were  here.  I  wrote  to  Hallam 
T.,  and  told  him  I  had  come  here  in  a  savagely  unsociable  mood, 
but  would  ask  him  to  come  and  see  me  some  day  or  other ;  but 
I  won't  go  near  old  Bugaboo  ^  if  I  can  help  it. 

*  Quartermaster-General.  ^  D.A.G.  Forces. 

8  Sir  W.  Reillie,  R.A.  *  Assist.  Mil.  Sec.,  Indian  Affairs. 

°  Another  nickname  for  Lord  Tennyson. 


Wolseley. 


io8  THE  LETTERS  OF 

We  trace  your  Royal  progress,  and  see  you  are  all  hard  at 
work,  bowing  out  of  railway  windows  and  appearing  in  divers 
uniforms.  I  should  suggest  to  those  whom  it  may  concern 
that  a  quadruple  suit,  one  arm  an  Admiral,  one  arm  a  General, 
and  the  back  divided  into  two  Generals,  say  Prussian  and 
Russian,  would  be  handy. 

I  have  brought  a  cargo  of  books  here,  and  am  going  to 
have  a  '*  lovely  time."  I  hope  you  will  enjoy  yourself,  but 
I  think  I  have  the  best  of  it.  The  Morning  Post  said  I  had 
presented  the  Duchess  with  a  "  lovely  bouquet  "  at  C.  Cross, 
so  I  got  the  credit  of  Mrs.  Monson's. 

The  Glen,  Freshwater,  Isle  of  Wight, 
24th  May  1883. 

Lady  One  little  pencil  line  only  have  I  had  from  you  since  you 

Woiseiey.  smarted,  posted  at  Berlin.  This  is  my  second  letter  to  you,  the 
first  I  posted  on  Sunday.  As  to  telling  you  of  any  events  here, 
there  are  none.  Our  habits  are  very  primitive.  Dinner  at 
one,  "  high  tea  "  at  seven.  I  have  read  two  podgy  and  stodgy 
volumes  of  Lady  Bloomfield's  Court  and  Diplomatic  Life.  She 
meets  many  interesting  people,  but,  beyond  the  fact  of  meeting 
them,  has  nothing  to  tell,  and  the  book  does  not  contain  one 
single  reflection.  I  would  give  it  a  month  to  be  round  the 
butter-pats.  I  am  now  in  the  second  fat  volume  of  The  Real 
Lord  Byron,  by  Jeaffreson.  Interesting  and  well  written.  I  am 
keeping  Mrs.  Carlyle  as  a  bonne-bouche.  I  am  surprised  to 
find  Byron  was  only  5  ft.  8 J  in.  high.  He  hung  on  to  the  |  inch  ; 
and  listen  to  Jeaffreson  :  '*  In  question  of  height,  it  may  be 
laid  down  as  a  sure  maxim  that  the  man  who  claims  credit  for 
the  extra  J  inch,  claims  credit  for  what  he  does  not  possess." 
How  about  I  ? 

In  the  way  of  home  news  the  only  thing  I  have  to  tell  you 
is  that  the  new  footman  wishes  to  "  leave  at  his  month."  A 
bore,  as  we  have  clothed  him  ;  but  I  don't  think  he  was  any- 
thing of  a  servant.  I  have  desired  him  to  go  at  once,  not  wishing 
to  house  his  idle  carcase  !  ! 

-^ist  May  1883. 

v/t^i  We  laughed  more  than  you  can  imagine  over  the  Times 

account  of  the  Coronation.     I  dare  say  you  thought  we  were 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  109 

much  impressed  by  all  your  grandeur,  but  not  a  bit  of  it.  The 
"  conqueror  of  Tel-el-Kebir  appeared  (or  disappeared)  ecUpsed 
behind  a  pillar,  and  could  not  change  his  base  of  operations  as 
from  Alexandria  to  Suez  "  ;  but  I  hope  you  peeped  round  your 
pillar  and  saw  something  ?  And  that  poor  Emperor,  unhappy 
gentleman,  muffled  in  that  mantle,  encumbered  with  the 
sceptre  and  the  globe,  and  even  at  luncheon  we  observed  he 
with  dif&culty  got  rid  of  it  even  for  a  moment.  I  dare  say  it 
was  a  grand  sight,  and  have  no  doubt  it  will  be  well  reproduced 
at  Covent  Garden  Pantomime  next  winter,  where  I  shall  see 
it  all  in  less  fatiguing  circumstcinces  than  you  are  in  now. 
How  does  your  colleague  keep  up  ?  I  quite  understand  now, 
what  puzzled  me  at  first,  why  you  write  on  his  paper.  When 
the  spies  read  your  letters  he  will  be  implicated.  The  great 
soldier  is  a  sharp  little  fellow,  and  knows  how  to  get  the  better 
of  the  Navy.  Henry  (footman)  is  here  a  distraction  to  all  the 
village  maidens ;  he  elbows  his  way  amongst  them  in  his  usual 
attitude  of  carrying  an  imaginary  tea-tray.  The  little  maid 
here  is  quite  knocked  off  her  centre,  and  Truman, ^  who,  with  the 
eyes  of  jealous  middle  age,  no  doubt  envies  her  youth,  says  she 
"  runs  round  and  round  him  giggUng  "  whenever  he  goes  into 
the  kitchen,  and  old  Madam  of  the  house  has  already  begged  he 
won't  go  in,  "  as  nothing  gets  done." 

I  am  at  the  second  volume  of  Mrs.  Carlyle,  and  am  charmed 
with  it.  I  am  afraid  you  may  think  her,  Uke  me,  rather  ex- 
haustive in  details,  for  three  pages  are  spent  teUing  how  the  cat 
ran  off  with  a  red  herring ;  but  she  is  original,  accurate  in  her 
originality,  humorous,  pathetic,  sarcastic,  everything  that 
people  try  to  be  and  are  not,  and  all  my  sentiments  about 
country  houses,  and  hating  snobs,  by  which  I  mean  the  people 
who  would  call  me  one  and  you  one  if  you  had  not  your  Kebirs, 
etc.,  tied  to  your  tail. 

To-day's  post  brought  me  a — I  am  not  exaggerating — 
valise  in  crocodile  skin — from  Lady  Brassey.  It  proved  on  in- 
spection to  be  a  new  kind  of  paper,  and  it  contained  under  her 
own  signature  an  account  of  a  microscopic  pony  12  hands  high, 
which  she  thought  might  suit  Frances  !  I  felt  so  inclined  to  say, 
why  not  have  enclosed  him  "  on  approval  "  in  the  valise  ?  Then 
Pandelli  Ralli  writes  to  say  Lord  Grantley  is  selUng  his  estates 
in  all-sized  lots  for  building  sites  ;  he  thinks  you  might  Hke 
^  Lady  Wolseley's  maid. 


no  THE  LETTERS  OF 

one.  I  thanked  him  and  said  would  he  get  up  in  the  "  House  " 
and  mention  that  if  we  did  not  get  our  money  soon  the  best  sites 
would  be  gone,  or,  if  he  thought  it  more  telUng,  he  might  say 
compound  interest,  due  to  the  long  delay,  would  enable  us  to 
buy  the  best  site. 

3^^  June. — Our  weather  here  is  quite  too  lovely.  To-day  F. 
and  Truman  go  "  on  tour  "  by  coach,  and  Mrs.  Grant  and  I  follow 
in  middle-aged  and  sedate  grandeur  in  a  fly.  I  am  still  at  Mrs. 
Carlyle,  and  I  feel  I  shall  cry  at  the  end  where  she  dies.  You 
shall  read  that  hook,  that  you  may  derive  benefit  from  old  Carlyle's 
"Ah,  me's  !  "  and  "  too  late's  "  (in  notes)  of  regret  that  he  did 
not  make  more  of  his  wife  while  she  was  alive  \  I  confess  his 
notes  annoy  me,  for  I  feel  he  does  all  his  vain  regrets  at  my 
expense,  because  I  am  dragged  from  his  wife's  bright  letters  to 
his  groans  at  the  bottom  of  the  page. 

If  you  come  across  any  Russian  illustrated  papers  of  the 
Coronation  festivities  keep  them  for  me.  We  have  pasted  all 
Morning  Post  and  Times  accounts  into  a  book,  and  I  shall  add 
any  illustrations  I  can  get. 

And  so  your  Duchess  is  bored  sometimes  even  there !  I 
fear  the  evil  Ues  within  and  not  without.  And  has  she  yet 
found  another  "  intelUgent  man,'*  and  are  you  eclipsed  ? 

Frances  wants  so  much  to  know  if  you  danced  the  polonaise  ? 


Wolseley. 


8th  June  1883. 

/'^t..  Yesterday  we  got  home  from  our  three  days'  drive  round 
the  island.  You  would  have  enjoyed  it,  and  we  should  have 
been  more  active  under  your  guidance ;  as  it  was,  we  drowsed 
along  like  two  middle-aged  blue-bottles,  and  basked  in  the 
sun. 

We  have  returned  to  Uke  Freshwater  better  than  any  place 
we  have  been  to :  so  un-touristy,  and  the  downs,  beach,  and 
rural  lanes  all  so  accessible,  and  within  a  stone's-throw  of 
one  another.  "  Pass  me  the  salt "  I  have  treated  abomin- 
ably, thereby  no  doubt  anticipating  what  would  have  been 
my  own  fate  at  his  hands.  I  wrote  to  Hallam  Tennyson  (think- 
ing they  were  all  in  Sussex)  to  ask  advice  about  lodgings.  He 
very  civilly  replied  from  here,  that  they  hoped  I  would  stay 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  iii 

with  them  till  I  was  suited.  I,  in  alarm  at  having  called 
them  down  on  my  own  head,  wrote  again  to  say  I  was  coming 
here  in  a  mood  of  "  savage  unsociability,"  and  when  soUtude 
had  somewhat  softened  it  I  would  go  and  see  them.  But  I 
have  never  gone  !  and  don't  want  to  go.  I  think  I  shall  pay 
them  one  visit  of  ceremony,  and  will  on  the  least  provocation 
give  him  pepper  for  his  salt  !   as  far  as  in  me  lies. 

I  find  a  deluge  of  notes — dinners,  etc. — ^to  be  answered. 
Not  many  of  the  dinners  can  we  eat,  as,  between  Russia  and 
Dublin,  your  time  is  a  good  deal  cut  up. 

I  wrote  a  pretty  note  to  Lord  Kenmare  ^  excusing  our  non- 
attendance  at  the  State  concert  on  the  13th,  and  hope  he  will 
ask  us  instead  to  the  second  one.  It  is  nice  to  hear  such  good 
music  cheap. 

Of  all  your  sights  I  should  have  best  liked  to  see  the  popular 
feast.  That  must  have  really  been  a  wonderful  sight,  and 
what  organisation  it  must  have  required  ! 

I  am  to  dine  on  the  22nd  with  the  A.  Russells  to  meet  the 
Ampthills ;  you  cannot,  as  it  is  your  Cabdrivers*  day.  I  feel 
sorry  for  you  coming  back  to  these  dreary  treadmills ;  the  actual 
labour  will  seem  Hght  after  all  you  have  had,  but  that  was 
tempered  by  the  kindness  you  met  with. 

6  Hill  Street,  W.,  2gth  June  1883. 
In  bed.    8  a.m. 

A  few  lines  to  you  while  my  marmalade  is  digesting ;  I  Lady 
don't  believe  you  will  have  time  to  read  them.  /  sat  up  writing  Woiseiey. 
till  1.30  a.m. ;  old  de  Cetto  alone  in  the  drawing-room.  Evi- 
dently "  St.  Pierre  "  was  entertaining  him  with  a  "  feu  de  Bengale 
dans  le  bosquet,"  as  my  dear  Gustave  Droz  says,  so  he  did 
not  disturb  me.  I  have  a  heavy  day  before  me.  First  to 
Victoria  store  for  flowers,  then  to  fetch  Ina  at  Waterloo.  I 
have  invited  her  up  to  "  Rotten  Row,"  lunch,  Chelsea  Hospital 
Fete  for  Soldiers'  Coffee  Tavern,  and  a  musical  afternoon  at 

Lady  Lawrence's.     Yesterday  I  called  on  Mrs.  ,    who  is 

a  nice  woman.  The  "  younger  son  "  was  there,  and  in  ten 
minutes  mentioned  that  fact  twice,  and  also  that  he  is  "  not 
such  a  fool  as  he  looks  " ;  but  the  latter  assertion  I  could  have 
disputed  had  civiUty  permitted.  They  have  taken  a  house 
^  Fourth  Earl  of  Kenmare,  Lord  Chamberlain.  1880-86. 


112  THE  LETTERS  OF 

we  looked  at  whose  sanitary  arrangements  prevent  any  one 
taking  it  twice.  I  went  on  to  Mrs.  Oppenheim,  and  she  was 
in,  so  I  saw  the  wonders  of  the  house — as  great  a  contrast  to  the 
days  when  we  met  the  "  Antiquaries  "  there  as  the  Antiquary 
is  to  Nana.  The  ground  plan  of  the  house  is  excellent  for 
space  and  circulation.  The  hall  furnished  with  rather  theat- 
rical footmen,  whom  I  conceived  to  be  full  of  a  withering  scorn 
for  their  master.  The  front  room  very  gorgeous,  as  if  twenty 
Doges  were  expected,  and  each  had  sent  his  brand-new  gold  chair 
beforehand.  The  next  room  panelled  with  lovely  carved  wood, 
white,  old  French,  from  a  chateau.  Then  a  gallery,  half  con- 
servatory, half  Alhambra,  in  which,  amongst  ferns  and  hang- 
ing baskets,  were  recesses  lined  with  looking-glass  and  furnished 
with  couches  for  "  Beauties  and  Beasts  "  to  lounge  on. 
(Beauty  in  history  is  often  the  greater  Beast  of  the  two.  You 
see,  the  marmalade  is  ^digesting  !)  Then  the  dining-room, 
wonder  of  wonders !  the  walls  of  exquisite  inlaid  wood  "  from 
Verona  "  and  surmounted  by  a  frieze  of  painted  fruits  (exquisite 
colouring  !).  These  rooms  run  round  a  little  well-like  court,  set 
out  with  little  iron  tables  like  a  cafe  chantant ;  but,  alas  !  no 
money  can  prevail  against  the  smuts,  and  so  they  can't  use  it. 
When  I  see  all  these  marvels  of  art  brought  together  I  feel 
rejoiced  that  nature  resists  rich  people's  attacks,  or,  believe 
me,  they  would  group  together  in  the  eighth  of  an  acre  a 
Swiss  mountain,  an  Italian  lake,  a  volcano,  a  glacier,  a  moor, 
a  firth,  and  a  fiord  (don't  ask  me  to  explain  what  the  two  last 
are).  No,  the  house  has  no  repose  and  no  indication  of  a  pursuit 
except  that  of  collecting  furniture.  Mrs.  Oppenheim  was  very 
simply  and  very  well  dressed  ;  she  has  read  and  travelled  much 
and  has  very  great  charm. 


Sunday  Evening,  1883. 

[His  Mother's  Death.] 

vf/^i^I  ^  write,  not  that  I  can  give  you  any  comfort,  but  because 

I  should  not  like  to  be  absent  from  your  thoughts  when  you 
have  to  meet  any  trouble  or  any  good  fortune.  If  I  can  take 
any  trouble  off  your  hands,  which  might  be  painful  to  you,  about 
the  funeral,  you  have  only  to  tell  me  who  to  go  to,  and  I  will 
do  my  very  best.     Perhaps  I  could  be  of  some  use,  could  I  ? 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  113 

In  the  same  way  please  tell  Fanny  if  I  could  get  mourning  for 
her  or  the  girls,  I  will  do  it  to  the  best  of  my  power,  and  we  can 
take  in  two  or  three  to-morrow  or  any  day  she  Ukes  to  send 
them  up.     I  have  written  to  Lady  Derby  and  Mrs.  Grant. 
Good-bye  ;  I  wish  I  could  kiss  your  poor,  tired,  red  eyes. 


1 884 

[At  a  period  even  eariier  than  that  of  the  Egyptian  Expedition 
of  1882,  trouble  was  brewing  in  the  Soudan,  largely  owing 
to  the  machinations  of  Mohamet  Ahmed,  who  declared  him- 
self to  be,  and  was  widely  accepted  as,  the  expected  Mahdi  of 
Moslem  belief.  He  quickly  attached  to  himself  ever-increasing 
numbers  of  fanatical  followers,  and  after  a  series  of  petty 
successes,  defeated  and  annihilated  in  October  1883  an  Egyptian 
army  under  Hicks  Pasha. 

As  the  Khedive  was  quite  unable  to  master  the  revolted 
Soudanese  province  unaided,  and  as  the  British  Government 
jibbed  at  the  offer  of  any  active  assistance  in  this  direction,  it 
was  decided  to  withdraw  the  Eg5^tian  garrisons  and  to  abandon 
the  country  to  the  Soudanese. 

General  Gordon  was  sent  to  Khartoum  early  in  1884  to  plan 
and  to  carry  out  the  arrangements  necessary  to  give  effect 
to  this  decision.  Meanwhile  the  trouble  increased,  the  seaport 
of  Suakin  was  threatened,  and  that  brilliant  cavalry  officer, 
Valentine  Baker  Pasha,  who  had  taken  service  with  the  Khedive, 
was  the  protagonist  of  another  tragedy ;  for,  while  proceeding 
from  the  coast  to  Trinkitat  with  4000  men,  to  attempt  the  rehef 
of  Tokar,  he  was  surrounded  by  Mahdists  and  his  force  cut  to 
ribbons. 

The  Government  at  home  was  spurred  by  an  aroused  pubhc 
opinion  into  sending  a  British  expedition,  under  General 
Graham,  to  protect  Suakin  and  relieve  Tokar.  Two  successful 
though  bloody  actions  were  fought  at  El  Teb  and  Tamai,  and 
the  redoubtable  Osman  Digna  having  been  dealt  a  heavy  blow, 
the  expedition  was  withdrawn. 

Gordon's  position  at  Kliartoum  was  now  one  of  the  utmost 
danger ;  every  day  rendered  his  isolation  more  complete,  and 
increased  the  difficulty  of  effecting  his  rescue. 

Mr.  Gladstone  shut  his  eyes  to  Gordon's  peril,  and  the 
Government  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  military  representation  that, 
to  secure  the  safety  of  Khartoum  and  its  garrisons,  a  force  should 
anticipate  the  autumn  fall  of  the  Nile. 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY     115 

It  was  not  until  the  month  of  August  that  a  tardy  and  re- 
luctant decision  was  made  to  send  an  expedition  for  the  relief  of 
General  (jordon  and  to  entrust  the  command  to  Lord  Wolseley, 
whose  views  as  to  the  feasibihty  of  the  advance  by  the  river  had 
prevailed  over  General  Stephenson's^  opinion  in  favour  of  the 
Suakin-Berber  route.] 


CHAPTER  X 

War  Office,  4/2/84. 

My  dear  Loo, — Please  go  to  my  room  and  look  in  the      Lord 
second  (I  think)  drawer  on  left  side  of  my  writing-table,  and  you  ^°^^^^- 
will  find  some  sheets  in  my  handwriting,  describing  Gordon's 
conversation  with  me  when  he  was  here.     Please  put  them  in 
an  envelope  and  send  them  to  me  by  the  bearer. 

21/4/84. 

I  have  just  seen  both  Stewart  2  and  Buller  :  the  latter  has      Lord 
grown  stouter.     What  a  hateful  place  this  is  !  it  seems  all  the   ^o/s«/«y. 
worse  now  that   I  know   how   pleasant   the  country  can   be 
without  visitors  or  neighbours. 

A  Cabinet  to-day,  where  my  proposals  are  being  considered. 
Hartington  said  I  might  expect  him  to  send  for  me  in  the 
evening,  so  I  may  lose  some  of  the  hours  intended  for  jolly  old 
Colonel  North. 

War  Office,  24/4/84. 

Yesterday  I  was  sent  for  in  hot  haste  to  go  to  Downing      Lord 
Street,  where  a  Cabinet  was  sitting.     I  was  kept  there  until   ^^/sei^y. 
long  after  post  hour,  so  I  could  not  write  to  you. 

I  was  tired  and  very  much  put  out  owing  to  the  line 
about  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  on  the  Soudan  question 
when  I  went  to  dinner  at  Northbrook's  yesterday.  The  first 
person  who  caught  my  eye  was  the  beautiful  Lady  Dalhousie.^ 
Northbrook  took  her  into  dinner,  and  I  was  able  to  look  at  her 
all  through  dinner  :  and,  really,  it  was  a  treat.     Lady  Dorothy 

1  Sir  Frederick  Stephenson,  commanding  British  forces  in  Egypt. 

2  Wolseley's  dearest  friend. 

'•»  Wife  of  thirteenth  Earl  of  Dalhousie. 


ii6  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Nevill  was  very  amusing,  but  shocked  Northbrook  by  having 
on  the  badge  of  the  Primrose  League.  Joe  Chamberlain  was 
there.  A  large  reception  afterwards,  in  which  I  was  caught  by 
numerous  bores.  I  am  dining  on  Sunday  with  Butler,  who  has 
returned  "across  "  the  Atlantic. 

Have  you  seen  in  any  of  your  society  papers  that  Gladys  ^ 
of  Lonsdale  is  to  be  married  to  Edgar  Vincent  ?  ^  The  engagement 
has  been  officially  announced.  She  is  really  clever  as  well  as 
handsome,  but  has  only  £5000  a  year  and  a  strong  propensity 
to  spend  a  fortune  annually. 

War  Office,  25/4/84. 

Lord  I  enclose  the  cheque  you  asked]  for.     Please  acknowledge  its 

Woiseiey.  j.g(,g|p^  ^^y  return  of  post — ^now  don't  forget  to  do  this.  We 
had  an  excellent  dinner  last  night  at  Levy  Lawson's^ — ^no 
women.  And  I  afterwards  went  with  him  to  Fleet  Street  to  see 
how  the  newspaper  with  the  largest  circulation  in  the  world  is 
printed  and  issued.  It  was  very  interesting,  but  very  late 
hours.  To-day  I  have  promised  to  call  on  your  Duchess  of 
Sutherland.  She  asked  me  to  dine.  I  said  I  could  not, 
but  would  pay  her  a  visit,  and  here  I  am  let  in  by  this  weak 
promise  of  mine.  I  sometimes  wish  all  my  women  friends 
were  banished. 

War  Office,  2/5/84. 

Lord  Goschen   breakfasted  with   me  this  morning  to  talk  over 

WoUeiey.  Egyptian  matters.  We  discussed  the  Edgar  Vincent  marriage. 
He  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  bridegroom  elect,  and  in  a 
manner  that  convinced  me  he  had  never  contemplated  having 
him  for  a  son-in-law.  I  dined  with  the  Solvyns  *  last  night,  and 
took  in  a  pretty  and  very  chatty  woman — Mrs.  Duff,  wife  of 
a  radical  M.P.  ;  on  my  left  was  Lady  Granville,  beautiful  but 
cold.  Lord  Granville  sat  opposite  and  was  evidently  lost  in 
admiration  of  his  wife  all  through  dinner.  We  had  a  Belgian 
Countess — I  don't  think  the  Count  was  there — ^who  is  even 
larger  than  Madame  Solvyns.  The  Countess  was  young — but 
her  face  had  been  subjected  to  a  severe  powdering  before  she 
arrived. 

^  Widow  of  fourth  Earl  of  Lonsdale,  afterwards  Marchioness  of  Ripon. 

2  Financial  adviser  to  the  Egyptian  Government;  created  Lord 
D'Abemon. 

3  Brother  of  first  Lord  Bumham.  *  Belgian  Minister. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  117 

War  Office, 
7.30  p.m.,  12/7/84. 

Nothing  is  talked  of  but  the  approaching  campaign  against  Lord 
the  House  of  Lords.  I  wish  all  its  members  looked  forward  ^  *^  '^' 
to  this  agitation  with  the  contempt  I  feel  for  it.  Either  it  is 
useful  or  not  :  if  not,  the  sooner  it  disappears  the  better.  I 
hate  shams,  and  of  all  the  most  unworthy  shams,  that  of  sham 
power  is  the  worst.  If  it  has  not  the  right  and  the  power  to 
reject  a  Bill  which  it  thinks  a  bad  one,  then  do  away  with  it 
— ^but  do  not  keep  up  an  institution  because  it  once  had  that 
power  and  because  formerly  it  was  regarded  as  wielding  a 
power  that  was  of  use  to  the  State. 

However,  I  must  not  write  about  poUtics,  and  Fricke  tells 
me  I  must  dress  for  dinner. 

War  Office,  Thursday. 

I  rode  home  from  Kneller  Hall  on  Tuesday  by  myself,  and  Lord 
a  very  hot  ride  it  was.  Went  to  the  War  Office,  and  then  to  ^""^'^^^y- 
the  House  of  Lords,  where  I  sat  very  near  Mrs.  Gladstone, 
who  caught  me  by  the  arm  as  I  was  leaving  and  said,  "  How 
dreadful  all  this  is ! "  Meaning  how  terrible  it  was  that  the 
Lords  should  dare  to  oppose  her  William's  will.  After  dinner 
I  heard  Lord  Salisbury  make  an  admirable  and,  as  it  struck  me, 
an  unanswerable  speech.  Last  night  dined  with  the  Wham- 
cliffes,  who  sent  you  many  kind  messages.  The  Saxe-Weimars, 
the  Waterfords,  Lord  Hardinge,  the  Secretary  to  the  ItaHan 
Embassy,  Lord  Drogheda,  and  others,  whose  names  I  don't 
know.  At  II  p.m.  by  special  train  with  H.R.H.  to  Aldershot  ; 
we  slept  at  Charley  Eraser's.  Up  this  morning  at  5.30  a.m.  to 
have  a  grand  sham  fight.  We  were  to  have  started  at  7  a.m., 
but  it  came  on  to  rain  so  heavily  that  the  troops  were  ordered 
home.  It  cleared  up  about  8  a.m.  and  we  had  a  march  past  and 
several  inspections,  getting  back  to  the  War  Ofi&ce  about  4  p.m., 
with  hours  of  work  before  me. 


In  the  Train  (South  of  Mayence),  1st  September. 

This  parting  from  you  takes  a  good  deal  out  of  me,  far  more     Lord 
than  you  can  have  any  notion  of,  and  each  succeeding  occasion      ^  ^  ^- 


Ii8  THE  LETTERS  OF 

is  harder  and  harder  to  bear.  Each  time  I  ask  myself,  when 
out  of  your  sight,  "  Shall  I  see  her  again  ?  "  I  am  very  glad 
you  did  not  go  with  me  to  Victoria,  for  I  should  have  broken 
down  ;  as  it  was,  I  was  not  fit  for  the  occasion  when  I  reached 
the  platform  and  had  to  say  good-bye  to  so  many  so-called 
friends.  At  Dover,  Lady  Stewart  ^  was  there  to  see  me  off. 
Her  time  comes  to-morrow,  but  then  I  can't  think  they  are  as 
fond  of  one  another  as  we  are.  It  is  generally  supposed  that 
couples  tire  of  one  another  after  years,  and  that,  as  they  enter 
middle  age,  become  somewhat  indifferent ;  but  I  can  truly 
say  that  I  love  you  far  more  now  than  I  have  ever  done.  We 
were  delayed  nearly  ten  hours  at  Cologne  by  an  accident  on 
the  line,  which  is  unfortunate,  as  the  evening  will  close  in 
before  we  have  got  through  the  best  part  of  the  Rhine  scenery. 
No  wonder  that  the  French  should  wish  to  have  the  Rhine 
as  their  frontier ;  but  that  can  not  be  till  the  Germans  cease 
to  be  a  great  military  power. 

Imperial  Hotel,  Vienna,  Wednesday,  s^d  September. — 
After  all,  we  are  to  stay  here  to-day.  Lord  Northbrook  had 
never  been  to  Vienna,  and,  therefore,  wished  to  see  it,  and  he 
added  he  did  not  see  why  he  should  knock  himself  up  by  un- 
remitting travel  at  the  beginning  of  his  mission.  We  are  to  dine 
with  Colonel  Primrose  this  evening,  and  go  to  the  celebrated 
gardens  afterwards,  where  kings  and  cocoUes  equally  enjoy  life. 

On  Board  H.M.S.  "  Iris  "  at  Sea, 
yth  September  1884. 

r^f,.  ^"^  Dearest, — ^This  ship  shakes  so  that  it  is  as  difficult 
to  write  in  my  cabin  as  in  an  express  train  ;  when  you  see  this 
note,  don't  think  I  have  taken  to  drink,  or  that  want  of  nerve 
has  caused  my  hand  to  quiver  like  an  aspen  leaf. 

My  hair  being  long,  I  sent  for  the  ship's  barber,  a  marine 
artilleryman,  who  dressed  my  head  as  if  he  were  ramming 
home  a  charge  in  a  big  gun  :  he  clipped  me  as  if  he  were 
clipping  a  poodle.  I  have  had  an  annoying  pimple  on  the 
back  of  my  neck  for  the  last  few  days,  which  I  made  the  ship's 
doctor  stick  his  knife  into.  This  ferocious  marine  began 
by  rasping  my  head  with  a  comb  as  he  would  have  done  a 

1  Wife  of  Sir  Herbert  Stewart,  appointed  to  command  mounted 
troops  in  the  expedition. 


WolseUy. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  119 

horse  with  a  curry-comb,  and,  of  course,  ran  the  teeth  into  the 
place  where  the  doctor  had  lanced  me  in  the  morning.  I 
remonstrated  feebly ;  he  answered  by  flourishing  his  scissors 
about  close  to  my  ears  as  if  he  meant  to  warn  me  that  he 
would  think  little  of  cutting  them  off  if  I  made  any  further 
row  about  the  matter.  He  had  one  great  merit — he  never 
spoke,  and,  on  the  whole,  I  think  I  preferred  this  silent  but 
ferocious  marine  barber  to  the  oily  and  loquacious  creatures 
who  crop  you  in  Mr.  Trufitt's.  I  feel  convinced  that  if  any 
hair-cutting  establishment  was  started  on  the  principle  that 
the  operator  was  forbidden  to  speak  on  pain  of  dismissal, 
their  regime  would  end  in  cutting  out  all  other  hair-cutting 
establishments. 

Northbrook  is  a  great  gentleman  but  a  very  weak  man. 
You  must  be  with  him  to  realise  how  impulsive  he  is.  He 
catches  at  the  views  of  men  he  thinks  clever,  and  then  rides 
off,  determined  to  carry  them  out.  He  was  sent  to  India  as 
(jovemor-General,  where  he  did  nothing  of  note,  and  is  now 
on  his  way  to  Egypt  to  evolve  some  policy  for  this  wretched, 
boneless  Cabinet  of  ours. 


Kasr  el  Noussa,  Cairo, 
i^th  September  1884. 

This   day  two  years  ago,  thank  God,  ended  brilliantly.     I     ^^ord 
can  remember  my  feeling  of  growing  anxiety  all  through  the 
hours  from  i  a.m.  until  I  stood  on  the  bridge  at  Tel-el-Kebir, 
with  a  defeated  army  flying  from  us  in  all  directions.     If  I  am 
equally  blessed,   I  ought  to  shake  hands  with  Gordon  near    » 
Khartoum,   about   the   31st    January  next.     Remember  that  y^ 
Khartoum  by  the  Nile  is  over  lyoo  miles  from  Cairo.  ^ 

Bracken  bury,  for  some  personal  reason,  would  not  come  out 
with  the  others,  and  the  result  is  that  when  he  arrives  at 
Alexandria  next  Wednesday,  he  wiU  have  to  go  into  a  filthy 
quarantine  place  for  five  days.  I  can  fancy  I  see  him  there 
now,  biting  his  nails,  which  he  invariably  does  when  he  is  vexed 
or  much  put  out  by  some  disagreeable  circumstance  that  he 
cannot  meet  with  force  but  to  which  he  must  bend.  I  have 
just  had  a  gracious  telegram  from  the  Queen  on  this  anniversary 
— ^thoughtful  of  her,  was  it  not  ?  I  am  on  the  best  of  terms 
with  dear  "Ben"  Stephenson;  he  is  "such   a  gentleman"  in 


Wolseley, 


120  THE  LETTERS  OF 

every  way  that  it  goes  to  my  heart  to  be  here  superseding  him 
in  the  command  of  the  troops.  I  contrast  him  with  Chelms- 
ford, who  was  Stephenson's  inferior  as  a  soldier  in  every  respect, 
but  who,  when  superseded  by  me,  evinced  the  worst  spirit  and 
met  all  my  overtures  with  ill  grace. 

Cairo,  20/9/84. 
Lord  I  settled  with  Lord  Northbrook  this  morning  that  I  would 

start  for  the  Upper  Nile  myself  about  this  day  week.  My  own 
idea  is  to  get  up  to  a  place  called  Debbeh  or  Ambigol  on  the 
river,  from  whence  there  are  roads  across  the  desert  to  Khar- 
toum and  to  Shendy,  and  if  all  goes  well,  to  take  1000  or  1500 
men  on  camels  into  Khartoum,  capture  Gordon,  and  bring 
him  back  with  me.  If  I  can  do  this  and  we  have  no  fighting, 
I  ought  to  be  in  Hill  Street  before  April  Fools*  Day.  I  am  in 
much  better  health  and  strength  than  I  was  lately  at  home.  For 
the  two  months  before  I  left  England,  I  had  been  too  much  worried 
and  worked  and  thwarted  by  H.R.H.  of  Cambridge.  I  had  no 
regular  exercise  and  was  a  little  below  par  in  consequence. 
Now  I  ride  always  once  and  generally  twice  a  day,  and  I  have 
not  to  fight  and  stand  between  two  parties — the  C.-in-C.  on  one 
side  and  common  sense  on  the  other.  I  know  of  nothing  more 
wearing,  because  it  is  trying  to  the  temper.  Oh,  defend  me 
from  having  to  deal  with  exalted  personages ;  and  yet  when  I 
say  this,  I  feel  how  justly  one's  servants  might  say  the  same 
thing  of  all  of  us.  We  are  dictatorial,  we  decide  peremptorily, 
as  our  wants  or  whims  dictate,  in  a  way  that  must  seem  very 
unreasonable  to  our  servants.  You  who,  like  myself,  clamour 
'  against  any  want  of  consideration  shown  by  exalted  folk  to  those 
with  whom  they  are  brought  in  contact,  remember  this  the  next 
time  you  say  "  Do  so-and-so  "  to  Truman.  I  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  get  through  the  bundle  of  letters  that  I  brought 
out  unanswered :  they  stare  me  in  the  face  daily,  and  the  longer 
I  postpone  looking  over  them,  the  more  Hkely  are  they  to  answer 
themselves.  I  have  just  finished  my  first  letter  to  the  Queen, 
and  that  is  always  an  exhausting  duty.  I  am  amused  at  what 
you  heard  about  Princess  Edward.  She  always  writes  to  me 
with  the  utmost  frankness,  and  I  don't  believe  she  laughs  at  me 
behind  my  back.  She  always  tells  me  what  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge  says  of  me,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  is  candour 
itself  in  all  her  dealings  with  me.     I  always  take  people  as  I 


Wolselex 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  121 

find  them,  and  am  anxious  never  to  bear  malice,  but  to  use  men 
and  women  too  for  my  own  purposes  even  when  I  doubt  their 
sincerity,  which  I  very  often  do.  I  have  just  had  a  telegram 
from  the  Prince  of  Wales  asking  me  to  employ  Arthur  Paget .^ 
I  have  repUed  how  much  I  regret  that  I  cannot  do  so.  An  odd 
mail  just  arrived  brings  me  a  letter  from  Lady  Dorothy,  but 
the  writing  is  so  difficult  to  read  that  I  take  a  few  lines  each 
day  and  still  can  barely  make  it  out. 


Cairo,  2yth  September  1884. 

I  leave  this  evening  for  Assiut,  by  rail,  to  embark  on  Sunday  \^/-^^'f 
morning  for  Assuan,  and  then  on  to  Wady  Haifa,  Dongola. 
I  paid  the  Princess  Nazli^  a  visit  this  week.  She  is  really 
not  the  least  pretty :  her  face,  like  all  these  women,  is  powdered 
or  painted  quite  white,  which,  with  her  very  dark  and  large 
eyebrows,  gives  her  rather  a  ghastly  look.  She  spoke  a  great 
deal  about  the  Goschens  and  begged  to  be  remembered  to  all 
the  family.  She  receives  about  6  p.m.,  when  she  has  a  sort  of 
twiUght  enUvened  by  some  lamps  which  sets  her  off  to  advant- 
age. Daylight  would  not  suit  her  complexion,  I  think.  I  hear 
that  Lady  Florence  Dixie  means  to  force  her  way  up  the  Nile. 
She  shall  not  do  so  if  I  can  prevent  her. 

I  have  just  said  adieu  to  the  Khedive,  who  has  done  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  help  and  befriend  me  in  the  nicest  possible 
manner.  We  shall  be  in  the  train  all  night,  and  a  precious 
dusty  journey  we  shall  have.  I  often  see  Edgar  Vincent ; 
he  does  not  seem  much  cut  up  at  his  engagement  being 
broken  off.  What  a  silly  thing  of  Mrs.  R.  coming  here ! 
She  will  be  able  to  see  no  more  of  her  husband  than  if 
she  were  to  remain  at  home.  These  arrangements  are,  I 
think,  all  made  for  effect  and  not  from  affection.  I  have 
just  been  bidding  Mrs.  Val  Baker  good-bye.  She  wanted  me 
to  dine  with  her  this  evening,  but  I  decHned.  I  believe  the 
noble  "  tin  bellies  "  and  Hussars  embarked  yesterday.  Fancy 
a  Life  Guardsman  clothed  hke  a  scarecrow  and  with  blue 
goggles  on,  mounted  on  a  camel,  over  which  he  has  little  control. 
What  a  picture  !     I  hope  you  have  a  good  map  of  the  Nile  from 

^  Afterwards  Lieut. -General  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  A.  Paget. 
'  Cousin  to  present  Sultan,  the  first  Egyptian  lady  to  receive  Euro- 
peans at  her  house'  and  to  dine  out. 


122  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Wady  Haifa  to  Khartoum.  If  not,  ask  Hopkins  to  send  you 
one.  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  I  sneeze  very  little  now,  and 
attribute  it  to  the  fact  that  since  I  left  home  I  have  seldom 
used  a  pince-nez,  using  spectacles  instead.  The  place  where 
the  tickling  in  my  left  nostril  makes  me  sneeze,  is  just  the  exact 
spot  where  the  pince-nez  presses  on  my  nose.  I  think  my 
sneezing  has  been  occasioned  by  the  pince-nez. 

Poor  James  is  very  much  put  out  that  he  has  not  been  em- 
ployed on  the  expedition  up  the  Nile,  or  what  I  find  is  called  in 
my  cipher  telegrams  the  "  Nubian  Expedition.*'  It  is  not  easy 
to  steer  between  all  the  difficulties  raised  by  men  who  think 
that  no  military  operation  should  be  undertaken  without  them. 
Meanwhile,  I  have  a  long  letter  from  H.R.H.  of  Cambridge  in 
which  he  begs  me  to  find  some  light  work  for  his  son  Augustus, 
and  I  have  said  I  will  gladly  do  what  I  can  for  him. 

On  Board  the  "  Ferooz," 
1st  October  1884. 
Lord  We  are  comfortable  on  board  :  cooking  bad  and  the  animals 

^^^'^y-  cooked  worse;  however,  it  is  all  the  height  of  luxury  to  what 
we  shall  have  in  the  desert.  I  feel  a  carpet  knight  to  mention 
any  inconvenience  when  I  think  of  what  Stewart  and  Gordon 
have  been  enduring  in  Khartoum.  I  have  just  written  to  North- 
brook  about  a  steamer  for  him  when  he  comes  up  here,  and 
referring  to  my  hero,  Charlie  Gordon,  said,  **  Whatever  may  be 
our  opinion  as  to  his  policy  we  must,  at  least,  all  feel  proud  of 

/him  as  an  Englishman  at  bay,  fighting  to  protect  the  men, 
women,  and  children  he  was  sent  out  to  bring  away  safely.*' 
Northbrook  and  E.  Baring  ^  dislike  Gordon,  and  never  lose  an 
opportunity  to  denigrer  his  worth :  they  call  him  mad  because 
he  does  not  worship  the  party  gods  whom  Gladstone  and  Co. 
have  set  up. 

The  Ferooz  is  one  of  the  Khedive's  yachts,  which  he  placed 
at  my  disposal  for  use  on  the  Nile  during  the  expedition.  My 
party  on  board  is  twelve  in  number,  including  Swaine,  my  four 
A.D.C.'s,  BuUer,  and  Brackenbury.  At  the  last  moment  I 
gave  a  passage  to  the  artist  of  the  Graphic,  whom  I  knew  in 
South  Africa,  and  here  again  in  1882,  so  I  expect  you  will 
have  numerous  drawings  of  my  doings  during  the  voyage  in 
that  newspaper.  It  makes  my  party  thirteen,  a  number  of 
*  Agent-General,  afterwards  first  Earl  of  Cromer. 


\ 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  123 

which,  as  you  know,  I  have  a  horror,  so  every  day  I  have  to  ask 
the  Captain — who  can't  speak  a  word  of  any  language  but  his 
own,  Arabic — or  Messrs.  Cook's  man,  who  is  a  Spaniard,  to  make 
up  our  number  to  fourteen  at  meals.  Yesterday,  at  Luxor,  the 
English  Consul — a  very  black  man — was  very  anxious  I  should 
take  away  with  me  a  mummy  hawk  ;  but  I  resisted.  He  said 
he  would  have  a  full-sized  mummy  ready  for  me  when  next 
we  met,  so  unless  I  can  avoid  stopping  there  on  my  return 
you  must  expect  to  see  me  arrive  with  a  mummy  cofiin  on  the 
box  of  our  carriage.  Where  shall  we  put  it  in  Hill  Street  ?  I 
expect  to  reach  Assuan  at  3  p.m.  to-day,  where  I  hope  to  post 
this  letter.  There  I  shall  remain  two  or  three  days,  as  I  hope 
to  get  this  steamer  up  the  first  cataract  and  to  take  her  on  to 
Wady  Haifa.     At  the  latter  place  I  shall  meet  Evelyn  Wood. 

Northbrook  and  Baring  have  now  determined  to  let  his^ 
army  die  out  slowly,  replacing  it  by  an  armed  police.  By  and 
by  this  may  be  good  policy,  but  until  the  Mahdi  is  disposed 
of  in  some  way  and  the  eastern  Soudan  brought  back  to 
peace  and  order,  an  army  will  be  required  to  protect  the 
frontier,  or,  at  least,  by  its  presence  at  Wady  Haifa  and  Assuan, 
give  the  feeling  of  confidence  without  which  trade  is  im- 
possible. The  Baring  Firm  must  not  forget  this  in  their 
hurry  to  carry  out  the  radical  programme  of  their  party.         ^ 

I  often  think,  when  men  talk  of  military  examinations  and 
the  Staff  College,  that  the  only  one  of  my  four  A.D.C.'s  who 
could  not  pass  a  scientific  examination  is  Wardrop,^  and  yet, 
as  a  Staff  Officer  all  round,  he  is  worth  the  other  three  put 
together.  One  is  an  Engineer,  the  other  two  Gunners  ;  all 
three  educated  at  Woolwich,  yet  how  inferior  as  soldiers  to 
Wardrop,  who,  until  I  induced  him  to  study  for  the  Staff 
College,  knew  as  little  of  equations  as  I  do  of  the  mysteries  of 
Isis.  Swaine^  is  not  so  clever  as  accomplished,  and  deUghtful 
to  deal  with  ;  has  plenty  of  that  sound  common  sense  necessary 
for  the  man  of  the  world,  and  which  is  far  more  generally  useful 
than  mathematical  knowledge.  He  is  not  happy  outside  of  a 
horse,  or,  indeed,  of  a  donkey,  for  he  generally  manages  to 
get  an  animal  that  stumbles  or  tumbles,  or  the  saddle  turns 
round  and  he  gets  a  cropper. 

^  Major  Wardrop,  Lancers,  afterwards  military  attach^  at  Vienna. 
3  Afterwards  Lieut.-General  Sir  Leopold  Swaine,  military  secretary  to 
Lord  Wolseley.  1882  and  1884-85. 


124  THE  LETTERS  OF 

P.S. — The  Life  of  Cicero  is  at  my  side  as  I  write ;  that  elo- 
quent talker  who  reminds  me  of  Fox  or  Gladstone — all  talk, 
talk,  and  pandering  to  the  whims  of  a  mob  in  order  to  gain  and 
retain  power ;  characters  wanting  in  the  quality  that  has  given 
\  immortal  fame  to  Caesar,  Cromwell,  and  Napoleon. 

KoROSKO,  ^h  October  1884. 

Lord  We  have  just  arrived  here,  and  I  find  two  English  officers 

Woiseiey*  ^^j^  ^  small  detachment  of  native  troops.  We  are  a  peculiar 
nation,  with  representatives  everywhere,  even  in  the  midst  of 
this  great  Nubian  desert.  And  wherever  that  representative 
is  an  officer  of  the  Army  or  Navy,  you  may  depend  upon  his 
word  as  you  would  upon  the  oaths  of  other  men,  and  you  know 
he  will  uphold  the  honour  and  reputation  of  his  country.  I 
have  just  had  a  telegram  from  the  Central  News  saying  the 
Times  states  I  have  been  recalled,  and  asking  if  it  be  true. 
What  a  curious  rumour !  Remember  you  can  always  telegraph 
to  me.  It  would  be  well  if  you  bought  two  little  English  dic- 
tionaries of  the  same  edition  and  sent  me  one.  You  could  then 
always  cipher  to  me. 

In  the  same  way  you  can  often  safely  put  a  name  in  dear 
without  giving  any  clue  to  meaning  of  sentence.  In  fact  the 
clever  thing  to  do  is  to  put  as  much  as  you  can  in  clear,  and  as 
little  as  you  can  in  cipher,  and  yet  make  the  sentence  entirely 
unintelUgible  to  those  who  have  not  the  key  to  our  cipher. 


Wady  Halfa,  6th  October  1884. 

Lord  You  will  have  heard  before  this  reaches  you  all  about  the 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  Colonel  Stewart.^  We  do  not  yet  know  for  certain 
that  he  has  been  murdered,  but  I  can  have  no  doubt  about  it 
myself.  We  have  actually  two  lady  nurses  here  in  our  hospital : 
they  are  a  real  boon.  Before  we  got  them  recognised  as  part  of 
our  medical  establishment,  the  doctors  pooh-poohed  their  value, 
and  tried  to  keep  them  at  a  distance.  I  wish  we  had  plenty 
more  of  them ;  they  serve,  moreover,  to  keep  the  doctors  and  the 
hospital  orderlies  up  to  the  mark. 

I  have  begun  already  to  roar  at  every  one,  from  talking  to 

1  Colonel  Stewart,  nth  Hussars,  murdered  by  the  Monassir  tribe  on 
his  way  down  the  river  from  Khartoum,  October  1884. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  125 

Wood  ;  strange  to  say  the  Railroad  Engineer  here,  a  Major 
Clarke,  is  much  deafer  than  Evelyn,  so  you  can  imagine  how 
pleasant  it  is  to  do  business  with  them  when  they  are  together. 


Wady  Halfa,  ^th  October  1884. 

Our  camp  now  consists  of  two  dahabeeyahs,  in  one  of  which  Lord 
reside  myself,  Swaine,  Wardrop,  and  Fricke,  and  in  the  other  ^oiseiey. 
Buller  and  his  A.D.C.  The  rest  of  the  Headquarters  people  hve 
in  tents  pitched  on  the  bank.  Mine  consists  of  self,  Mihtary 
Secretary,  four  A.D.C. 's,  and  a  doctor — by  and  by  the  party  will 
be  increased  by  Lord  Charles  Beresford  and  a  native  A.D.C. 
called  Zohrab  Bey.  The  last  named  was  attached  to  my  staff 
when  I  was  here  in  1882,  and  is  a  very  useful  man,  speaking 
Arabic  fluently.  His  father  was  an  Armenian  and  his  mother 
EngUsh  ;  he  is  a  very  nice  fellow.  When  in  Cairo,  where  he 
does  duty  with  the  Khedive,  he  has  a  Uttle  estabUshment 
presided  over  by  a  French  lady  who  used  to  sing  on  the  stage 
in  light  opera.  When  he  leaves  he  sends  her  to  her  friends 
in  France,  as  I  don't  think  he  believes  in  grass  widows  in  a 
place  like  Cairo.  I  have  not  yet  begun  camel  riding,  but  one 
of  my  two  camels  threw  its  rider  twice  yesterday  evening,  and 
it  is  no  joke  tumbUng  from-€uch  a  height.  The  great  Camel 
Corps  arrived  at  Alexandria  yesterday.  I  am  anxious  to  see 
all  the  fine  gentlemen  of  H.M.  Household  troops,  dressed  in 
workmanlike  fashion,  moving  over  the  sands  of  this  desert  on 
camels. 

Wady  Halfa,  13/10/84. 

[.My  Dearest, — I  am  sure  it  was  no  fault  of  yours  that  Lord 
the  post  of  yesterday,  which  brought  me  English  letters  of  the  °  ^  ^^' 
26th  September,  did  not  bring  me  a  Une  from  you.  You  in 
England,  surrounded  with  every  comfort  and  as  many  pleasures 
as  you  wish  to  enjoy,  cannot  realise  the  pain  and  irritation 
caused  by  the  arrival  of  an  EngUsh  post  that  does  not  bring 
you  letters  from  the  only  person  you  care  to  hear  from.  I  am 
becoming  very  tired  of  this  place ;  waiting,  waiting,  waiting, 
without  anything  very  particular  to  do  all  day,  is  trying  to  the 
temper  of  a  man  Uke  me.  However,  if  I  had  not  come  out, 
I  don't  think  that  any  relief  of  Khartoum  this  winter  would 


126  THE  LETTERS  OF 

have   been  possible.     Just   off  to   one  of  the   very  difficult 

cataracts   up   the    river   to   see   some  native   boats    dragged 

through  it.     A  good  rattling  day  of  discomfort  in  the  broiling 

sun  is  good  for  one,  and  prevents  one  from  feeling  age  creeping 

on.     In  London  one  hears  so  much  of  party  politics  and  the 

struggles  of  place-hunters ;  but  when  one  gets  clear  away  from 

the  politicians'  atmosphere,  one  loses  all  interest  in  the  subjects 

V/  which  absorb  people  at  home.     I  ^uld  not  read  one  of  those 

'      speeches  Gladstone  has  been  spouting'in  Scotland  lately,  unless 

forced  to  do  so  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.     Any  shred  of 

concern  as  to  whether  Parnell  will  have  forty  or  seventy  Irish 

4^avages  to  do  his  bidding  at  the  next  election  vanishes  after  a 

'    few  weeks  spent   in  the   Nubian   deserts.     If,  to   please  the 

Gladstones,    the    Brights,   and    vestrymen    of    that    ilk,    the 

English   choose  to  see  their   Empire   wrecked,   provided  the 

catastrophe  takes  place  in  accordance  with  law  and  the  theory 

of  ParUamentary  Gk>vernment,  all  I  can  say  is,  they  deserve  to 

lose  it. 


r 


Wady  Halfa,  Tuesday,  14/10/84. 

tLofd  Oh,  my  dear  little  woman,  what  a  night  we  have  had  of  it  ! 

Woiseiey  y^^  j^g^^  ^idid  an  extremely  violent  dust-storm  during  the  day, 
but  it  subsided  towards  evening,  and  I  went  out  for  a  ride  on 
my  camel  until  dark.  I  always  dine  at  7  p.m.  so  as  to  get  to 
bed  early  and  have  plenty  of  sleep  before  daybreak,  which  is 
about  5.30  a.m.  Every  evening  I  have  two  guests  to  dinner  ; 
we  dine  on  the  upper  deck  of  this  dahabeeyah  in  which  I  write 
this  and  where  I  sleep.  Well,  we  had  just  finished  our  candle- 
grease  and  water  which  we  call  soup,  when  on  came  another 
sand-storm  ;  I  thought  we  should  have  been  blown  away  from 
our  moorings  right  out  into  the  broad  river — ^such  a  scene  : 
the  native  captain  and  his  sailors  howling  at  one  another  and 
jabbering  hke  monkeys.  Fricke  holding  on  like  grim  death 
to  the  awning,  which  the  wind  caught,  making  the  ship  lean 
over  in  an  uncomfortable  manner.  I  clutched  at  some  tumblers 
and  glasses,  others  seized  the  plates,  another  the  tablecloth, 
and  struggled  down  below  into  the  saloon,  there  to  wait  until 
the  storm  blew  over.  During  the  time  we  were  exposed  to  it, 
we  were  covered  with  dust  and  sand.  When  Fricke  reappeared 
to  lay  another  cloth  in  the  saloon  he  was  as  black  as  a  Nubian. 
I  have  a  little  steam  cutter  moored  alongside  my  dahabeeyah  ; 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  127 

it  was  nearly  swamped,  and  in  trying  to  get  shelter  had  to  pass 
under  a  spar  extending  from  the  dahabeeyah  to  the  shore,  and 
in  doing  so  carried  away  its  steam  whistle.  After  dinner  I 
went  to  bed  ;  the  heat  was  very  great  and  oppressive,  but 
being,  as  you  know,  a  good  sleeper,  I  was  soon  in  the  land  of 
dreams.  I  awoke  a  Uttle  before  daybreak  and  felt  very  dirty. 
I  put  my  hand  on  my  blanket  and  then  on  my  pillows  and 
found  them  covered  with  dust  ;  in  fact  my  head  was  in  a  sand- 
bag and  my  eyes  clogged  with  mud.  Everything  in  my  cabin 
was  thick  with  brown  dust.  We  had  had  another,  and,  as  I 
found  out,  a  much  worse  storm  during  the  night,  which  I  had 
slept  through.  Oh  !  the  discomfort  of  waking  up  and  finding 
oneself  in  such  a  condition  of  dirt  as  I  was  in  this  morning  ! 
However,  it  is  all  in  the  way  of  business  ;  I  had  an  early  break- 
fast, and  rode  out  14  miles  to  see  some  boats  taken  through  the 
worst  cataract  here,  which  is  called  the  "  Gate." 


'  Wady  Halfa,  lyth  October  1884. 

As  yet  I  have  seen  nothing  about  Egypt  that  would  induce  me  ^Lord 
to  come  here  for  pure  pleasure.  Of  course,  if  you  compare  it  ^oiseicy. 
with  Ashanti — but  purgatory  is  agreeable  if  weighed  in  the 
scales  against  hell.  Oh,  the  heat  to-day !  and  now  that  every 
cranny  has  been  stopped  that  would  allow  the  outside  air  to 
enter  in,  I  feel  as  if  I  were  being  gradually  stewed  in  my  own 
juice,  having  been  well  larded  beforehand. 

I  enclose  a  note  from  Baker  Russell.  Good  lieutenants  are 
prone  to  be  troublesome  ;  my  followers  forget  I  cannot  employ 
every  one  in  a  Uttle  war  like  this.  The  longer  I  live  the  less 
I  count  on  personal  friendship.  Men  like  you  as  long  as  you 
can  help  them,  and  then  are  apt  to  kick  down  the  ladder  by 
which  they  succeeded  in  mounting. 

Halfa,  Nubia, 

22nd  October  1884. 

My  Dearest, — BuUer's    A.D.C.,    Lord    F.    Fitzgerald,    is      Lord 
a  nice  youth,  but   I  am  told  a  rare  fellow  to  ask  questions.   ^°^^^^' 
He  saw  me  using  a  single  field-glass,  and  said,  "  Is  that  a 
good  plan  to  have  only  one  glass  instead  of  binoculars  ?  " 
The  answer  was  obvious.     '*  A  capital  plan  to  have  a  single 


128  THE  LETTERS  OF 

glass  when  you  have  only  one  eye."     He  has  made  no  further 
inquiries  from  me. 

Wady  Halfa,  Nubia, 

2()th  October  1884. 

w^ri  ■  ^^^  ^^'  ^  hope,  the  last  letter  I  shall  ever  write  to  you  from 
this  place,  the  name  of  which  was  unknown  to  999  out  of  every 
1000  educated  EngHshmen  a  year  ago,  but  which  now  all  have 
heard  of.  I  leave  before  daybreak  on  Tuesday  morning ;  by 
rail  34  miles  to  Sarras,  horseback  for  about  15  miles,  then 
camels  for  about  16  or  17  miles  more  to  a  cataract  on  the  river 
named  Ambigol.  Sleep  in  the  desert,  to  Akashah,  and  so  on  to 
Hanek,  the  third  cataract,  which  I  hope  to  reach  early  on 
Sunday  next,  where  a  steamer  meets  me  and  I  go  on  in  her  to 
Dongola.  You  know  from  my  journals — ^that  is,  if  you  ever 
read  them — ^what  my  object  is  in  going  so  soon  to  that  place 
ahead  of  the  bulk  of  my  army.  Sir  H.  Stewart  is  now  com- 
manding the  troops  at  Dongola.  I  am  curious  to  see  what  I 
can  do  with  the  Mudir  of  that  place,  who  is  a  pompous  and  vain 
man,  with  a  great  deal  of  energy  and  ability ;  a  great  autocrat 
whom  the  people  like  because  they  respect  him,  and  respect 
because  they  fear  him.  Fricke  started  this  morning  by  river  ; 
he  never  could  ride  all  day  on  a  camel.  So  I  am  being  valeted 
by  Wood  the  coachman.  I  feel  he  will  come  in  some  morning 
with  a  wisp  of  hay,  making  a  hissing  noise  with  his  mouth,  and 
try  to  wisp  me  down  before  I  have  my  tub.  I  have  just  heard 
from  Lord  C.  Beresford  that  a  certain  lady  has  been  left  £15,000 
a  year  by  one  of  her  "  friends  "  \   "  virtue  rewarded ! ' 

Dongola,  Nubia, 

^th  November  1884. 

Lord  Butler  is  now  here.     I  think  as  he  grows  older  his  rich  Irish 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^^j^  becomes  more  marked  and  still  fuller.  I  like  his  earnest- 
ness and  go-aheadness,  never  tied  by  conventionalities  or  red 
tape.  He  must  work,  however,  in  a  zone  of  his  own.  He  does 
not  pull  well  in  a  team. 

Things  have  not  been  going  with  me  as  well  as  I  could  like. 
These  infernal  old  steamers  of  the  Khedive's  are  worn  out 
and  constantly  breaking  down,  and  the  result  is  that  I  cannot 
be  at  Shendy  (on  the  Nile  below  Khartoum)  for  at  least  a 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  129 

month  later  than  I  had  in  a  sanguine  mood  calculated  upon. 
This  will  retard  operations  so,  that  we  shall  be  well  into 
the  hot  weather  before  we  can  be  back  again  in  Cairo.  How- 
ever, perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  avoid  moving  up  the  Nile 
beyond  Debbeh  or  Ambikol,  and  may,  from  that  neighbourhood, 
be  able  to  push  on  camels  across  the  desert  direct  to  Khartoum. 
I  have  this  morning  received  an  answer  from  Hartington  to  my 
appUcation  for  Baker  Russell,  telling  me  the  13th  have  been 
ordered  to  the  Cape.  I  pity  them,  unless  the  Government  have 
determined  upon  reconquering  that  Colony  from  the  Dutch, 
for,  unless  there  is  to  be  a  real  war  there,  the  work  for  the 
regiment  will  be  tiresome  and  uninteresting,  and  will  be  felt 
by  the  men,  who  had  been  looking  forward  to  a  spell  at  home 
after  their  tour  of  service  in  India. 


DoNGOLA,  Nubia, 

10th  November  1884. 

Have  you  seen  the  Army  and  Navy  Gazette  of  the  nth  Lord 
October?  There  is  an  article  intended,  I  suppose,  to  be  ^^^^^^^y- 
antagonistic,  but  I  regard  it  as  complimentary.  It  says  I 
am  the  strong  man  who  insists  upon  having  his  way  ;  that  is 
just  what  I  strive  to  be,  but  I  am  heavily  handicapped.  I  have 
just  had  a  telegram  from  the  Prince  of  Wales  asking  me  to 
employ  Sir  John  Willoughby  of  the  Blues,  who  took  you  into 
dinner  one  evening  last  season.  I  have  also  had  a  telegram  from 
Bumaby,!  saying  he  will  be  in  Cairo  on  the  20th  instant.  There 
will  be  the  devil's  own  row  if  I  give  him  anything  to  do,  and 
yet  I  should  like  to  do  so,  as  he  is  clever  and  as  brave  as  a  lion. 
I  shall  let  him  come  on  to  the  front  at  any  rate,  and  if  there 
is  to  be  fighting,  he  shall  have  a  place  in  the  forefront  of  the 
battle,  which  will  please  him  and  confound  his  enemies.  It  is 
difficult  to  steer  safely  through  friends  and  foes.  I  have  just 
read  some  quotations  from  the  book  that  the  Executrix  of  the 
late  Lady  Bulwer  Lytton  has  recently  pubHshed.  Fancy,  with 
interesting  works  on  all  sorts  of  subjects  open  to  one,  to  pore 
through  the  pages  of  fooHsh  letters  written  by  a  young  man  in 
the  silliest  strain  to  a  young  woman  he  was  about  to  marry ! 
Who  on  earth  can  care  to  probe  into  the  causes  that  led  to  the 

*  Colonel  Buraaby,  Royal  Horse  Guards,  a  great  traveller ;    author 
of  the  Ride  to  Khiva. 


130  THE  LETTERS  OF 

separation  of  these  two  people,  and  how  can  it  interest  any  one 
to  know  that  the  husband  in  a  rage  bit  his  wife's  cheek  ? 

I  am  amazed  at  the  bickerings  and  dodges  of  professional 
politicians.  At  this  distance  from  Westminster,  Private  Tommy 
Atkins,  slaving  away  here  amidst  a  thousand  discomforts,  seems 
a  far  more  respectable  person,  and  one  of  whom  England  should 
be  much  prouder  than,  say,  of  Sir  W.  Harcourt.  The  Duke  of 
Cambridge  is  evidently  pleased,  and  writes  to  me  that  he  hopes 
other  members  of  the  Royal  Family  will  now  visit  Ireland. 
There,  I  think,  he  is  quite  right,  for  the  Paddies  would  give  the 
Prince  of  Wales  a  reception  such  as  he  has  never  had  anywhere 
else.  The  Princess  of  Wales  would  help  him  greatly  in  this 
respect. 

Wady  Halfa,  lyth  November  1884. 

Lord  I  am  told  that  the  post  bag  for  home  will  close  in  twenty 

Woiseiey.  j^nutes,  SO  I  must  scribble  you  a  line.  I  reached  this  place 
last  night  a  little  before  eleven  o'clock,  having  come  from  Don- 
gola  in  four  days,  which  distance  took  me  seven  when  I  went 
to  Dongola  from  there.  I  start  again  from  this  at  half-past 
seven  this  evening  to  return  to  Dongola,  which  I  hope  to  reach, 
D. v.,  in  four  days.  To-night  I  shall  sleep  in  the  desert.  I  have 
two  A.D.C.'s  with  me,  one  of  whom — Zohrab  Bey — ^has  a  native 
servant.  He  is  the  only  domestic  with  the  party,  and  I  have 
no  escort  of  any  sort  beyond  an  Arab  guide.  I  never  took 
even  my  boots  off  coming  here,  and  only  once  washed  at  all, 
so,  as  you  may  imagine,  I  was  glad  to  have  a  bottle  of  champagne 
here  last  night  on  arrival,  and  a  good  tub  and  clean  clothes  on 
this  morning.  I  am  very  glad  I  came,  however,  as  I  will  describe 
in  my  journal,  which  I  shall  write  up  when  I  reach  Dongola. 
I  had  food  with  Maurice  on  my  way  here,  so  if  you  see  his  wife 
you  can  tell  her  he  is  very  well  and  prospering.  My  poor  camel 
that  I  rode  yesterday  for  over  fourteen  and  a  half  hours  could 
scarcely  stand  when  I  reached  Sarras  at  9  p.m.  last  night.  It 
had  had  neither  food  nor  water  all  day,  and  its  rider  had  had 
very  little  either,  as  the  whole  distance  was  through  a  howling 
wilderness  of  desert,  where  not  one  drop  of  water  was  to  be  seen 
or  had.  At  one  time  I  had  to  dismount  to  lead  him.  The 
camels  of  the  others  were  much  worse  than  mine.  You  must 
tell  Frances  this.  On  my  way  here  I  rode  one  night  for  several 
hours  on  a  pony  which  I  owned  in  Cyprus.     Do  you  remember 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  131 

one  that  was  most  difficult  to  mount  ?  That  was  the  one. 
I  am  "  very  fit,"  as  Baker  Russell  would  say,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  a  burnt -up  nose,  I  am  all  the  better  for  my 
220-mile  ride. 

DoNGOLA  (Order),  24th  November  1884. 

I  enclose  you  Charlie  Gordon's  letter  to  me  in  reply  to  one  Lord 
I  wrote  him  when  in  Cairo.  There  is  much  in  it  that  has  not  ^^^^^^y- 
been  made  public,  so  if  you  show  it  in  triumph  to  any  of  your 
pals  don't  let  them  read  much  of  it.  Keep  it  as  a  curiosity. 
I  paid  over  £100  to  the  messenger's  people  for  its  safe  deUvery. 
What  a  strange  man  Gordon  is  !  I  hope  I  may  not  have  any 
trouble  with  him  ;  I  don't  anticipate  any,  but  with  him  you 
must  be  always  prepared  for  the  unexpected.  Your  plan  of 
sending  me  cuttings  from  the  newspapers  is  excellent.  I  have 
read  no  papers,  I  may  say,  since  I  came  to  Egypt.  I  amuseX 
myself  with  the  picture  papers,  but  I  am  so  tired  and  wearied 
with  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his  Cabinet  of  vestrymen,  with  their 
plans,  their  Franchise  Bill,  their  littleness,  love  of  party,  and 
indifference  to  the  honour  or  greatness  of  England,  that  I  hate 
to  read  anything  about  them.  They  will  have  their  day  ;  a 
dirty,  dunghill  sort  of  democratic  wave  is  now  passing  over  the 
world.  Old  creeds  are  laughed  at  ;  power  and  strength  are 
scoffed  at^     The  stump  orator,  poking  his  head  out  of  a  railway  . 

carriage,  tells  a  man  that  he  is  a  splendid  fellow  and  the  pink  of     / 
wisdom  as  long  as  he  keeps  the  Prime  Minister  in  power. 

2$th  November. — I  feel  a  Httle  depressed  by  news  I  have 
just  received  from  Buller  at  Haifa,  about  progress  of  suppUes 
to  the  front  and  the  slowness  of  our  whalers  on  the  river 
carr5dng  the  troops.  I  have  such  a  trust  in  God,  who,  I  be- 
lieve, regulates  all  human  affairs  and  listens  to  the  prayers  of 
those  who  ask  in  faith  for  His  blessing  on  their  doings,  that  I 
am  sure  He  will  not  forsake  me  now,  but  will  help  me.  He  has 
been  with  me  in  all  my  previous  expeditions,  and  when  things 
have  looked  blackest,  much  darker  than  they  do  at  this  moment, 
He  has  come  to  my  assistance  and  shown  a  way  out  of  my 
difficulties.  It  is  troubles  of  this  sort  that  make  men  old  before 
their  time,  and  I  have  been  so  hounded  down  by  enemies  at 
home,  that  the  thought  of  failure  is  to  me  more  dreadful  than 
it  would  be  to  one  who  would  be  merely  regarded  as  having 
failed  to  accomplish  a  very  difficult  or  impossible  task.     My 


132  THE  LETTERS  OF 

only  real  trouble  is  time.  My  task  would  be  simple  if  I  had  a 
couple  more  months  of  cool  weather  before  me  than  I  can 
calculate  upon.  I  know  you  don't  take  the  same  views  I  do 
upon  the  interposition  of  God  in  all  our  doings — I  wish  you  did. 
How  often  I  have  escaped  death  by  a  hairbreadth,  always  with 
the  feeUng  that  God  watched  over  me.  This  was  when  no 
responsibility  rested  on  my  shoulders  ;  but  I  have  realised  it 
far  more  since  chief  command  lies  on  me.  At  home  I  neglect 
God  sadly,  but  when  embarked  in  any  difficult  enterprise,  I 
turn  to  Him  as  my  Protector,  as  my  Guide.  My  prayers  have 
never  been  for  riches  or  happiness  or  long  life,  but  God  has 
given  me,  up  to  the  present,  what  I  craved  of  Him — ^the  power 
to  work.  I  feel  that  my  mission  is  not  yet  fulfilled,  and  He 
will  not  forsake  me  now.  Is  this  a  gloomy  sheet  ?  To  no 
other  person  in  the  world  could  I  or  would  I  unburden  myself 
as  I  have  done  here.  I  am  as  cheery  as  ever,  and  whatever  may 
be  in  my  heart  no  man  of  my  party  laughs  more  or  looks 
happier  than  I  do.  My  next  sheet  to-morrow  will  be  in  a 
different  tone,  and,  indeed,  I  feel  inclined  to  tear  this  up  and 
not  send  it. 

Wednesday,  26th  November  1884. — I  feel  quite  ashamed  of 
having  written  you  so  lugubrious  a  sheet  yesterday.  I  have 
just  come  in  from  a  good  canter,  the  first  since  my  fall  from 
the  camel,  and  I  feel  healthy  and  ready  to  fight  the  Mahdi  and 
all  his  belongings,  or  to  march  south  across  the  Equator  and 

/find  my  way  into  Bechuanaland.  I  have  no  uneasiness  about 
fighting  the  Mahdi,  but  if  great  mortality  occurs,  it  will  be 
Gladstone's  fault  in  not  being  able  to  foresee  the  necessity  of 
this  expedition,  or  understand  the  arguments  of  soldiers  who 
"4  told  him  early  in  the  year  that  it  must  be  undertaken.  The 
amount  of  human  blood  that  has  been  shed  and  will  yet  be 
shed  through  his  want  of  statesmanlike  ability  is  bad  to  con- 
template. Heaven  knows  I  am  not  squeamish  about  taking 
human  life,  but,  when  taken,  the  action  ought  to  be  deliberate 
and  well  thought  out,  some  great  object  being  in  view,  one  of 
the  chief  objects  being  to  limit  the  extent  of  wars  and  bloodshed 

Tin  the  no  distant  future.     His  action  has  been  the  reverse  of 
,    this.     He  talks  glibly  about  bloodguiltiness,  and  yet  no  English- 
man of  modem  days  has  so  much  on  him,  not  because  he  loves 
to  kill,  but  because  he  cannot  rule  the  affairs  of  England.  Whilst 
/-lie  is  canting  on  halfpenny  cards  about  the  sinfulness  of  war, 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  133 

and  talking  bosh  out  of  railway-carriage  windows  on  trifling 
subjects  connected  with  this  vote-catching  Franchise  Bill,  he  is 
planting  the  seeds  of  trouble  which  must  end  in  a  great  Boef — 
war  in  South  Africa,  and  eventually  in  a  war  in  Europe. 


1st  December  1884. 

Little  things  sometimes  make  one  cross  when  one  is  anxious.  Lord 
I  always  try  to  resist  this,  but  human  nature  is  very  weak.  ^°^^^- 
To-day  I  am  "  put  out  "  by  the  Foot  Guards.  They  have 
come  bounding  along  through  the  desert  as  if  they  were  racing, 
and  the  consequence  is,  they  come  in  here  with  any  number  of 
camels  having  bad  sore  backs.  Yesterday  morning  early,  when  I 
sat  down  to  write  a  General  Order  upon  the  occasion  of  the 
first  of  our  boats  with  troops  on  board  having  passed  the  third 
cataract,  which  is  just  about  40  miles  below  this  town,  I  wished  I 
could  have  had  you  with  me  to  correct  it.  I  employed  only 
the  simplest  EngUsh  words  and  plainest  metaphor,  so  that  the 
most  unlearned  bugler  should  comprehend  the  meaning  of  the 
appeal.  You  must  give  me  your  criticism.  Any  one  can  write 
and  tell  me  it  is  "  beautiful,*'  etc.,  but  I  want  your  candid 
opinion. 

DoNGOLA,  10/12/84. 

I  am  anxious  to  see  how  much  of  Gordon's  letter — which  I  Lord 
sent  you  home — ^the  Government  have  pubHshed.  Hartington  ^^^^^^y- 
telegraphed  to  me  asking  how  much  should  be  made  known, 
and  I  answered  that  they  should  leave  out  all  about  suppHes, 
number  of  days  Gordon  can  hold  out,  all  mention  of  men  Hke 
Cuzzi,  and  everything  that  could  possibly  be  of  use  to  the  Mahdi. 
I  told  you,  when  I  sent  you  Gordon's  letter,  to  keep  it  to  your- 
self, for  the  Government,  having  refused  to  make  most  of  it 
known,  it  would  never  do  to  allow  its  contents  to  leak  out 
through  you. 


On  Board  the  Khedive's  Dahabeeyah,  Saturday,  i^th  De-    .  Lord 
cember. — At  last  I  am  off  with  my  face  towards  Khartoum,  where   ^^'^^'^y* 
I  hope,  please  God,  to  be  not  very  long  after  you  read  this.     If 
I  go  by  the  desert  route  into  Khartoum  via  Shendy,  I  shall  be 


134  THE  LETTERS  OF 

cut  off  from  all  telegraph  stations  for  some  time,  so  I  beg  of  you 
to  laugh  at  all  tales  of  disaster  which  are  safe  to  be  circulated 
the  very  moment  I  leave  the  "  wire."  "  Lord  W.  killed  and  his 
/^^army  destroyed,"  etc.  etc.  I  can  see  the  little  boys  with  their 
dirty  yellow  posters  running  up  Hill  Street  calhng  the  lying 
news  out,  but  do  you  laugh  at  it.  I  wish  Frances  and  you 
could  have  seen  my  embarkation  to-day.  First  there  was  an 
English  guard  of  honour,  and  then  two  lines  of  Bashi  Bazouks 
from  the  Mudir's  residence  to  the  quay  :  our  band  playing 
some  martial  strain  as  the  guard  presented  arms,  whilst  a  few 
key  bugles  played  by  men  as  black  as  ebony  gave  out  discordant 
sounds,  the  Mudir's  soldiers  being  determined  to  mark  their 
presence  by  some  musical  display.  In  the  background  a  small 
crowd  of  men,  women,  and  children,  not  only  of  all  ages  and  of 
all  sizes,  but  of  every  variety  of  colour,  from  the  intense  black- 
ness of  Equatorial  slave  to  the  fairness  of  the  Turk  or  of  the 
Mameluke,  from  whom  many  here  are  descended. 


KoRTi,  23^^  December  1884. 

Lord  Your  nice  fat  letter  of  the  28th  November  reached  me 

Woiseiey.  yggterday  evening.  I  found  it  on  my  table  when  I  returned 
from  my  evening  ride.  I  read  it  most  deliberately  before  dinner, 
and  then  again  after  dinner  when  I  left  my  festive  board  and 
got  back  to  my  tent.  I  dine  at  7  p.m.,  and  always  have  two 
or  three  men  besides  my  "  Household  "  to  dinner,  and  I  am 
glad  to  say  these  strangers  generally  retire  about  half-past 
eight  or  nine.  If  they  don't,  Swaine  calls  me  out  on  telegraph 
business,  or  one  of  the  A.D.C.'s  tells  them  I  go  to  bed  very  early. 
Well,  much  as  I  like  sleep,  my  bedstead,  which  on  outside 
measurement  is  only  24  inches  wide,  is  not  of  that  tempting 
nature  that  I  care  to  get  on  it  except  when  I  want  to  sleep. 
One  can  only  turn  on  it  with  care,  and  if  you  are  not  extremely 
cautious  in  turning,  you  find  your  blankets  on  the  ground. 
However,  I  must  not  find  fault  with  it.  I  am  very  glad  to  have 
it  to  keep  me  off  the  ground,  and  I  shall  miss  it  very  much  when 
I  leave  this  for  Khartoum  and  take  again  to  the  desert.  Well, 
when  in  my  tent  at  9  p.m.,  I  find  it  difficult  to  pass  the  next  hour, 
for  I  am  afraid  to  read.  With  eyes  as  bad  as  mine  I  cannot 
afford  to  weary  them  in  this  climate.  It  is  the  want  of  a 
good  crop  of  eyelashes  that  makes  you  suffer  in  the  desert,  and 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  135 

especially  of  eyelashes  under  the  eye,  as  the  heat  is  reflected 
up  from  the  desert,  and  unless  well  provided  with  a  natural 
hedge  of  bristles  beneath  your  eyes,  you  suffer  accordingly. 
With  your  long  and  thick  eyelashes  this  desert  glare  would  not 
affect  you,  but  with  my  scraggy  eyelashes — only  one  here  and 
there,  and  that  a  very  poor  affair — ^it  is  very  different.  When 
I  smoked  it  did  not  matter  much,  for  a  cigar  will  always  help 
you  kill  a  useless  hour,  but  I  have,  I  may  say,  almost  given  up 
smoking,  and  very  seldom  indulge  in  a  cigar,  much  as  I  enjoy 
smoking.  I  found  my  nerves  were  being  affected  here  if  I 
smoked,  so,  'great  as  the  privation  was,  I  gave  up  tobacco  in 
order  to  have  all  the  nerve  possible  for  the  Mahdi. 

26th  December. — We  dined  earUer  than  usual  yesterday 
evening  so  as  to  attend  a  sort  of  open-air  concert.  Wardrop 
was  Master  of  the  Ceremonies,  and  the  affair  went  off  very  well. 
The  song^  were  all  of  the  music-hall  type,  and  a  ridiculous 
parody,  sung  by  a  sailor,  of  "  'Twas  in  Trafalgar  Bay."  At 
dinner  W3  had  a  very  good  plum-pudding  and  champagne 
which  had  been  stored  up  for  Xmas  Day.  Also  two  very  fine 
wild  geese  that  Arthur  Creagh  shot.  Their  flesh  was  excellent, 
but  the  flavour  a  little  too  strong  for  me.  If  I  had  had  nothing 
else  for  dinner  I  could  have  got  through  them  very  well,  but  I 
am  a  poor  creature  at  novelties  in  food. 

Monday,  2gth  December. — I  have  just  telegraphed  to  Harting- 
ton,  telling  him  that  the  troops  began  yesterday  pushing  up  the 
region  where  they  will  soon  be  in  an  enemy's  country,  and  that 
to-morrow  Herbert  Stewart  leaves  with  a  large  convoy  for  the 
Gakdul  Wells,  which  are  in  the  desert,  half-way  to  Shendy. 
He  returns  here  without  delay,  and  I  hope  to  start  myself  with 
all  the  mounted  troops  on  the  7th  January  for  Khartoum  in 
the  desert  and  Shendy.  My  spirits  rise  at  the  prospect,  and 
all  the  fighting  instinct  that  is  in  me  comes  bubbUng  up,  until 
at  last  I  feel  inclined  to  draw  my  sword  and  try  its  temper  on 
the  tent  pole. 

Only  fancy  your  friend  Brack  converted  into  a  Brigadier- 
General  !  !  The  Duke  was  angry  when  I  made  him  Deputy 
Adjutant-General.  He  will  be  angrier  when  he  hears  of  this 
new  rank  now  conferred  upon  him.  Most  of  the  rows  I  get 
into  with  H.R.H.  are  about  other  people  whose  battles  I  have 
to  fight  and  for  which  battles  those  most  concerned  are  never 
the  least  grateful. 


136  THE  LETTERS  OF 

KoRTi,  3is^  December  1884. 

Lord  Last  night  messengers  from  Gordon,  carrying  letters  for  me, 

Woiseiey.  j-ga-ched  Merawi,  about  35  miles  above  this,  and  I  am,  as  you  may 
imagine,  anxiously  expecting  them.  They  say  that  Grordon  has 
plenty  of  food  to  enable  him  to  hold  out,  and  told  them  to  tell 
me  I  was  not  to  divide  my  force.  If  he  gives  me  in  his  letters 
good  reason  why  I  should  not  operate  as  I  had  just  made  up 
my  mind  to  do  in  two  separate  columns,  each  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  the  other,  I  shall  have  to  change  all  my  plans. 
Gordon,  of  course,  wants  to  keep  at  least  some  of  our  soldiers 
here  all  the  year,  so  his  advice  may  be  biased  by  that  wish. 
The  march  of  Sir  H.  Stewart  yesterday  into  this  incomprehen- 
sible desert  was  really  very  imposing.  The  slow,  steady,  and 
measured  pace  of  the  camels,  the  silence  of  the  big  men  who 
sat  upon  them,  and  the  order  and  regularity  of  the  formation 
all  conspired  to  make  it  a  scene  the  remembrance  of  which 
will  be  long  impressed  upon  the  memory. 

What  a  strange  machine  a  large  sta^  is  to  drive  !  Old  Wel- 
lington was  perhaps  right  in  never  having  able  men  about  him. 
Nearly  all  his  generals  were  duffers,  and  he  made  no  secret  of 
the  fact,  and  most  of  his  Staff  were  selected  for  social  reasons, 
a  few  outsiders  with  no  family  influence  or  position  to  give 
them  power  or  influence — ^like  old  Colonel  Scovell — ^your  friend's 
great -uncle — ^being  kept  in  the  background  to  do  all  the  real 
work  under  his  own  direct  guidance.  Of  course  he  had  to  work 
very  hard  himself  in  consequence,  but  his  system  had  its  advan- 
tages. I  have  always  gone  on  the  principle  of  getting  hold  of 
all  the  really  able  men  I  can  find,  but  the  moment  they  feel 
they  have  an  assured  footing  and  can  do  really  good  Stafl  service, 
they  torture  themselves  with  jealousy  one  of  the  other,  and 
sometimes  even  in  their  dealings  with  me  are  inclined  to  kick 
over  the  traces.  It  is  often  difficult  to  keep  them  in  their  places. 
The  fact  is,  there  are  very  few  really  able  men  in  the  world,  and 
a  small  proportion  only  of  that  clever  lot  join  our  Army.  When 
any  of  these  clever  men  are  employed  in  important  positions 
they  soon  realise  their  own  worth,  and  are  inclined  to  serve  you 
only  on  their  own  terms.  A  number  of  them  together  form  a 
team  very  difficult  to  drive.  The  only  plan  is  to  change  the 
leader  for  each  journey,  that  is,  campaign.  It  is  very  often  a 
sort  of  Chinese  puzzle  to  fit  them  all  in  to  the  square  they  should 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  137 

make  when  put  together,  for  there  are  some  of  such  curious 
shapes,  who  will  fit  in  with  no  one,  and  who  think  they  should 
form  a  square  by  themselves.     Gordon's  messenger  just  arrived 
— most  provoking,  he  brings  no  letter,  only  a  piece  of  paper 
the  size  of  a  postage  stamp  with :  "  Khartoum  all  right,  14/12/84,  '^^T^ 
C.  G.  Gordon."     Of  course  his  messenger  has  plenty  to  say,  and      \ 
I  have  not  yet  heard  his  story.     I  send  the  piece  of  paper,  as       ^ 
years  hence  it  will  be  looked  upon  with  great  interest.    The  blue 
marks  on  the  back  are  Gordon's  seal.     It  came  rolled  up  as  thin 
as  a  thick  pin,  and  was  sewn  into  the  hem  of  the  messenger's  / 
clothing.  .   .  .  Write  this  under  it. 


1 884 


CHAPTER    XI 

TiTTENSOR,   StOKE-UPON-TrENT, 
2yrd  April  1884. 

Lady"  Rumbling  to-day  in  my  tin  box — don't  you  wish  you  could 

woiseiey,  j^g^yg  peeped  in  ? — I  found  those  book  memos  of  yours  :  also 
these  two  blue  documents.  Perhaps  you  will  understand  them. 
Fricke  heard  in  the  village  that  there  was  an  earthquake  in 
London  yesterday  and  that  a  church  fell  down.  I  believe 
the  event,  if  true,  was  a  judgment  on  oli  North.  We  shall 
know  nothing  till  our  paper  to-morrow.  Would  you  soften 
your  heart  to  the  poor  distressed  parson  and  send  him  the 
Times  ?     I  enclose  his  address. 

To-night  you  will  be  at  the  Northbrooks.  Tell  me  whom 
you  take  in  and  all  about  it.  I  hope  our  house  feels  a  little  dull 
without  me.    This  sweet  place  gets  sweeter  every  day. 


TiTTENSOR,  2^th  April  1884. 

Lady  No  letter  from  you  this  morning  to  say  the  earthquake  had 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  gobbled  you  up  !  It  seems  to  have  been  quite  a  tidy  little 
earthquake  for  England.  I  have  been  working  hard  at  those 
vile  bills  all  day,  and  have  not  read  one  line !  There  is  self- 
sacrifice  for  you. 

The  Duke  of  Sutherland's  housekeeper  has  been  here  to-day 
to  look  round.  *'  His  Grace  was  shocked  at  the  bare  walls."  I 
told  Truman  to  walk  her  about  well  and  let  her  look  at  the 
carpets  !  She  "  can't  think  where  all  the  nice  things  are  gone 
to,  the  house  used  to  be  so  pretty."  She  drove  over  in  a  grand 
carriage,  with  her  Duke's  coronet  all  over  them  all !     I  mean  the 

horse  and  carriage. 

133 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY     139 

Sunday,  2yth  April  1884. 

Please  inquire  for  old  Sir  Harry  Vemey  at  4  South  Street.  Lady 
I  enclose  you  a  new  Marl,  to  gloat  over,  and  have  marked  ^oiseiey. 
a  few  enticing  items.  Here  is  a  quotation  from  my  Lord 
Hervey.  You  might  bring  the  bit  about  sending  an  army 
without  a  general  into  Italy  and  a  general  without  an  army 
to  the  Rhine  into  a  speech  about  Hicks  and  Gordon  if  you 
dared. 

With  regard  to  the  Karolyis,^  I  suppose  you  think  the 
notice  too  short ;  but  as  they  have — vide  M.  Post — only  just 
rentre  from  Clieveden,  and  as  every  one  is  rentrez-ing,  I  do 
not  think  you  need  be  huffy  about  that.  However,  I  enclose 
you  two  notes — one  to  accept  and  one  to  refuse — so  send  which 
you  like.  I  think  they  are  nice  superior  foreigners,  but  do  just 
as  you  like,  only  tell  me.  Also  please  send  off  enclosed  to  Mrs. 
George  Cavendish  Bentinck  if  you  have  not  engaged  yourself 
for  loth.  If  you  have,  write  her  a  refusal  for  us  both.  It  is 
to  "  meet  the  Waddingtons."  2 


TiTTENSOR,  Sunday,  4th  May, 

Truman  paid  a  visit  of  ceremony  to  the  Trentham  house-  Lady 
keeper — ^in  return  for  hers  here — yesterday,  and  it  was  settled  °  ^  v- 
in  confidence  between  these  two  great  powers  that  the  Suther- 
lands  will  provide  the  Wolseleys  with  "the  necessary."  The 
Duke,  innocent  creature,  went  home  that  Sunday  and  searched 
the  cupboards  himself  for  ornaments  for  us  ;  but  it  appears  that 
whatever  he  found  he  still  thought  could  not  be  parted  with, 
as  it  is  wanted  at  Trentham  !  so  Dukes  are  very  like  little 
Barons,  for  I  am  sure  it  is  just  what  we  should  do. 


Monday. 

I  am  glad  to  tell  you  you  will  not  find  my  face  so  pale  as  this      Lady 
hotel  ink  !     I  am  decidedly  better  and  have  even  nibbled  sl  bit   ^oiseiey. 
of  a  book  to-day  with  some  pleasure. 

*  Count  and  Countess  Karolyi,  Austrian  Ambassador    and   Ambas- 
sadress. 

•  French  Ambassador  and  Ambassadress. 


140  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  am  not  going  to  throw  over  Mrs.  Washington  Hibbert.  I 
shall  valiantly  dine  with  her  to-morrow  night.  I  feel  she  will 
soon  be  giving  an  account  of  us  all  in  heaven,  and  who  knows 
but  that  that  little  extra  weight  in  my  favour  may  not  turn  the 
balance. 

If  you  can,  you  will  meet  me  at  Victoria,  but  I  know  that 
is  an  hour  when  H.R.H.  is  likely  to  have  his  arm  round  your 
neck. 


TiTTENSOR, 

2^rd  September  1884. 

Lady  Little  "  King  "  takes  my  photograph  and  a  bag  of  chocolate 

Woiseiey.  ^^kes.  We  think  a  nibble  of  them  before  you  start  on  your 
rickety  camel  in  the  morning  will  settle  your  stomach  and 
prevent  sickness.  If  the  journey  causes  them  to  coagulate 
into  one  large  lump  you  must  eat  it  out  of  the  box  with  a 
spoon.  I  hope,  too,  you  will  like  the  photo.  Please  sUp  me 
out  of  my  frame  and  observe  the  beauty  of  my  arms,  which 
is  very  remarkable !  I  am  delighted  to  hear  of  the  camel 
present,  and  that  he  is  worth  £200.  Long  Uve  the  Khedive 
and  the  Camel — ^if  the  latter  sells  for  a  good  price. 

A  word  about  your  spelling.  Week  (semaine,  not  faiblesse)  is 
not  spelt  weak,  and  development  has  not  got  two  *'  p's  **  or  *'  Ts.** 

You  write  an  excellent  simple  style  usually,  but  sometimes 
there  is  something  rather  appretee  in  your  sentences,  a  little  air 
of  writing  for  posterity,  and  remember,  if  you  write  with  your 
eye  on  posterity,  posterity  won't  care  to  keep  its  eye  on  what 
you  write,  because  it  will  be  unnatural  and  wanting  in  life. 
There  is  a  sermon  for  you.  My  critical  faculties  are  much 
sharpened  by  a  course  of  Sainte-Beuve  I  have  been  going 
through.  This  criticism  does  not  apply  to  the  journal,  which 
is  simple  and  forcible  throughout,  but  to  sentences  in  your 
letter  to  me.  As  I  give  you  up  so  much  and  so  often  to  the 
service  of  the  public  now,  I  claim  as  a  right  that  your  letters 
to  me  should  be  written  primarily  for  me. 

Nos  soup9ons  sur  la  cuisiniere  ne  sont  que  trop  vrais !  EUe 
est  depuis  sept  mois  dans  cet  etat.  Je  la  trouve  tr^  imper- 
tinente  de  rester  chez  nous  si  longtemps  car  cela  pourrait  arriver 
d'un  moment  a  I'autre.  Je  Tenvoie,  with  an  escort,  chez  sa  sceur 
qui  est  une  femme  mariee.      II   parait    qu'elle  serait  rest^e 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  141 

jusquk    son    accouchement,    si    on    n*avait    pas    fait    cette 
d^couverte. 

TiTTENSOR,  2yth  September  1884. 

Have  you  had  any  more  "  Tartaric  Acid  "  from  the  Duchess     Lady 
of  E.  in  the  shape  of  recommendations  not  to  write  "  bombastic      ^  **  ^' 
speeches  "  ?     I  hope  you  will  speak  up  for  the  soldiers  when 
they  deserve  it,  whatever  she  may  say.     It  is  much  more  im- 
portant that  they  should  Hke  you  than  that  she  should. 

Gordon's  telegram  that  he  intends  burning  Berber  and 
handing  the  Soudan  over  to  the  Turks  sets  us  wondering; 
but  will  the  country  give  him  the  £30,000  he  mentions  ?  I 
think  the  hose  of  your  common  sense  turned  on  your  hero  will 
have  a  very  good  effect.  I  hope  you  will  soon  send  me  some 
journal.  Don't  keep  it  till  it  gets  too  fat  ;  it  is  much  more 
interesting  to  read  it  fresh  and  fresh.  You  shall  have  a  photo 
of  me,  I  hope,  by  next  mail.  I  enclose  you  part  of  a  letter 
from  **  Alf,"  in  which  you  will  see  what  Lord  Carnarvon  thinks 
of  you.  There  is  an  amusing  picture  of  you  and  Northbrook 
flying  through  the  air  as  the  Dioscuri.  Isa  is  furious  with  you 
because  you  promised  to  put  "  CharUe's  "  name  down  on  your 
"special  service  "  list,  and  you  have  left  your  list  at  the  W.O. 
of  officers  to  be  sent  out  and  no  Charlie  on  it.  I  am  inundated 
by  letters  of  mingled  congrats  and  condolences  on  your 
departure. 

TiTTENSOR,  2nd  October  1884. 

I  see  to-day  that  you  have  arrived  at  Assuan.  There  may  Lady 
not,  or  may,  be  much  fighting  before  you,  but  I  think  there  ^°^^^^' 
seems  plenty  of  danger  without — crocodiles,  sails  catching  fire, 
boats  upsetting.  I  only  wonder  I  ever  close  my  eyes,  but  I  do, 
and  have  even  an  afternoon  nap.  I  read  horrid  accounts  of  the 
crocodiles  lying  like  logs  of  wood,  and  snapping  their  crunching 
jaws  as  you  tread  on  them.  I  beg  you  to  be  careful.  Be  as 
dirty  as  you  like,  but  don't  bathe  in  the  teeth  of  the  crocodiles. 

6  Hill  Street,  23^^  October  1884. 

Here  has  another  week  gone,  and  to-morrow  my  letter  to      Lady 
you   must    go   off.     Last    Saturday   Frances  and   I   returned   ^°^^*'*y* 
here  from  our  junketings ;  since  then  the  cares  of  a  household 


142  THE  LETTERS  OF 

have  fallen  on  me — ^gas  escapes,  broken  blinds,  taps  that  run, 
coals,  shoeing  for  horses.  But,  oh  dear  !  why  should  I  tell 
you  all  this  ;  you  have  your  expedition  to  drive  along  and 
your  right  only  to  be  egaye.  Mrs.  Newdigate  drove  me  into 
Derby,  where  we  took  train.  En  route  we  passed  Chaddesden 
and  called  at  the  door,  hoping  Lady  Wilmot  would  come 
out  and  speak  to  us.  But  she  was  shut  up  in  her  room  with 
a  "  crying  "  cold,  and  only  appeared  at  her  window,  a  vision 
of  blue  dressing-gown  and  red  shawl  and  pantomime  expression 
of  cold. 

Sir  J.  M'Neill  asks  me  to  tell  you  that  the  Queen  sent  for 
him  lately  and  told  him  that  as  you  did  not  seem  likely  to 
take  him  to  Egypt,  she  would  like  him  to  go  to  India  on  the 
24th  December.  What  he  is  to  do  there  he  does  not  quite  know, 
as  she  has  not  explained,  but  he  thinks  to  be  useful  to  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Connaught,  as  owing  to  some  little  difficulty 
(with  the  Downes),  Sir  M.  Fitzgerald  does  not  return  to  them. 

I  had  a  long  and  very  civil  note  lately  from  Frank  HoU. 
Before  I  left  town,  I  went  to  the  Academy  Diploma  Gallery  with 
Mr.  Long,  and  we  remarked  your  picture  was  not  there.  Long 
seems  to  have  told  Holl  that  I  regretted  it,  and  Holl  writes  to 
explain.  The  law  is  that  a  picture  given  to  the  Diploma  Gallery 
must  be  first  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy,  with  a  notice  in 
the  catalogue  that  it  is  to  be  the  artist's  diploma  picture.  Holl 
was  elected  just  before  your  picture  was  exhibited,  and  did 
not  know  the  rule,  consequently  the  picture  could  not  be 
accepted  for  the  Gallery.  The  rule  was  made  to  prevent  parsi- 
monious artists  giving  unworthy  pictures. 

I  send  you  a  Diamond  Dictionary  by  Major  Turner,  R.A., 
who  started  on  Tuesday.  All  the  diamond  Johnsons  have 
two  columns.  I  have  a  twin  to  the  one  I  sent  you,  so  you  can 
wire  to  me  when  you  like. 

I  met  Lady  R.  to-day,  and  walking  with  her  we  were 
joined  by  Lady  G.,  who  affected  not  to  know  me.  I  let  her 
do  so.  By  and  by  Lady  R.  introduced  us,  and  she  said 
she  had  not  recognised  me,  so  I  took  the  opportunity  of  sajdng, 
"  I  did  not  in  the  least  know  who  you  were."  She  is  a  saucy 
baggage. 

I  am  longing  to  hear  how  you  like  my  photo.  Several 
people  won't  take  it,  they  think  it  so  bad  and  so  artificial. 
It  is  rather  a  cafe  chantant  actress,  I  think  !     Sometimes  I 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  143 

get  very  low  and  anxious  thinking  about  you,  and  the  Nile 
seems  full  of  crocodiles  and  cataracts  ready  to  eat  you  up.  Last 
night  many  tears  trickled  down  on  the  pillow. 

P.S. — I  have  improvised  a  coachman,  a  helper  in  Wood's 
coat — and  his  legs  wrapped  in  a  rug.  This  leaves  the  booted 
Thomas  free  to  go  with  the  carriage  and  ring  the  bells  (town 
is  full  and  I  have  visits  to  pay),  and  Frederick  remains  at  home 
to  open  the  door. 


31s/  October  1884. 

As  you  perceive,  I  am  using  our  old  Dalton  paper  for  your  Lady 
benefit.  Before  I  say  anything  else  let  me  explain  that  ^<'^*^^* 
with  this  you  will  get  an  envelope  of  newspaper  cuttings. 
I  thought  you  might  not  always  have  time  to  "  search  the 
Scriptures,"  and  have  cut  out  whatever  I  thought  would 
interest  you.  General  Herbert  tells  me,  too,  that  as  you  get 
farther  away  you  will  very  often  not  get  your  papers  nearly 
so  quickly  as  your  letters  ;  by  this  means  you  will  at  least  know 
a  little  what  is  going  on.  If  the  cuttings  don't  interest  you, 
you  can  but  throw  them  away,  but  till  you  tell  me  not  to  I 
shall  send  anything  I  think  you  will  care  for  each  week.  I 
have  divided  them  into  days  to  save  you  trouble  and  confusion. 
I  have  no  doubt,  like  the  novels,  you  will  read  the  last  first. 
I  enclose  here  the  instructions  old  G.  says  you  received.  I 
trust  him  so  little  that  I  think  it  is  just  as  well  you  should  know 
what  we  are  all  led  to  believe  your  instructions  are.  I  see  Mr. 
Onslow  gives  notice  in  the  House  that  he  intends  asking  what 
instructions  you  have  had  respecting  your  official  position 
with  regard  to  General  Gordon  and  if  the  Khedive  approves 
of  those  instructions.  General  G.  being  his  servant.  I 
think  one  good  thing  in  Bechuanaland  and  the  Zambesi  is,  it 
a  little  prevents  the  war  questions  there  would  otherwise  be 
about  Egypt.  Hobart  was  here  yesterday  and  tells  me  your 
eyes  are  already  fixed  on  South  Africa,  and  that  you  wish 
to  know  about  it.  He  seemed  surprised  at  such  vitality  with 
your  present  job  on  hand.  Last  Saturday  I  dined  with  the 
H.  Northcotes  and  they  had  a  very  pleasant  party.  The  E. 
Stanhopes,  Robert  Bourke,  Julia  Lady  Tweeddale,  Albani  and 
her  husband,  the   Stephens,   and    Sir  John   Macdonald  from 


144  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Canada ;  he  is  very  agreeable.  A  very  good  dinner,  and  Albani 
sang  divinely  afterwards.  Last  night  Lady  M'Dougal  dined 
here  and  we  went  to  see  Divort^ons,  very  improper  and  very 
amusing.     I  am  glad  to  say  they  only  charge  the  usual  prices. 

I  am  to  dine  on  the  5th  at  Mrs.  Hibbert's  to  meet  the  Saxe- 
Weimars.  The  Princess  is  supposed  to  be  dying  to  know  me. 
Certainly  she  has  controlled  her  longing  admirably  for  some 
years  !  So  many  people  send  you  loves  and  doves  that  if  I 
gave  them  all  my  letter  would  have  room  for  nothing  else. 


6th  November  1884. 

Lady  At  the  literary  feast  on  Monday  we  had  two  men  only, 

Woiseiey.  ^  well-known  author  and  an  unknown  poet.  The  dinner  was 
bad  and  the  wine  worse.  Literary  men  and  women  are  not 
good  in  their  cellars  and  kitchens,  and  the  talk  rather 
shoppy  about  Books  ;  they  none  of  them  ever  asked  a  word 
about  you  or  your  doings,  which  was  certainly  very  unlike 
other  people,  who  all  ask  volubly.  Perhaps  being  *'  penny-a- 
liners  "  they  thought  it  would  look  as  if  they  were  catering  for 
their  papers,  for  I  suspect  they  all  "  write  for  something.'*  On 
Sunday  Colonel  North  came  hot  from  Gloucester  House  with 
news  of  a  telegram  the  Duke  had  received  saying  Khartoum 
had  been  taken,  Gordon  prisoner,  etc.  etc.  All  London  has 
buzzed  over  this  ever  since,  and  the  Times  put  in  on  Monday 
that  the  Queen  and  Prince  of  Wales  had  had  telegrams  from  the 
Khedive — and  after  all  the  Central  News  was  responsible  for 
everything.  I  wonder  who  is  the  Standard  correspondent  with 
you  ?  He  seems  a  person  with  a  very  jaundiced  view  of  life. 
His  telegrams  are  full  of  the  difficulties  of  the  Expedition,  how 
the  Canadians  say  now  the  cataracts  are  much  worse  than  they 
expected,  how  we  must  expect  much  drowning,  how  it  is  hard 
on  the  men  to  have  no  ration  of  spirits  given  them  after  the 
very  hard  work  they  do.  Your  kuss-kuss  grass  has  arrived. 
I  must  read  over  your  letters,  for  I  think  you  told  me  what  you 
wanted  it  for.  I  see  a  good  many  people  and  really  am  at  home 
at  5  o'clock  every  day,  for  droppers-in,  but  it  bores  me  horridly, 
and  it  is  such  loss  of  time  to  sit  jabbering  there  instead  of 
reading  one's  book. 

When  I  get  into  my  comfortable  bed  at  night  I  think  of  you 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  145 

and  all  the  miseries  you  are  going  through,  and  I  feel  a  wretch 
for  leading  such  a  quiet,  easy  hfe  while  you  are  toiling  and 
moiling.  I  wonder  if  the  chocolate  cakes  and  the  photograph 
have  reached  you.  I  hope  they  have  not  been  con-/wsed  into 
one  another  by  the  heat. — Yours  always, 

L.  W. 

14/A  November  1884. 

On  Saturday  Frances  and  I  went  to  Seacox  till  Monday.  Lady 
We  travelled  down  with  Mr.  Goschen.  A  small  and  pleasant  ^°^^^^- 
party.  Evelyn  Ashley,  Mr.  Duff,  the  Whip — without  his 
delightful  wife — and  the  Lyulph  Stanleys.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  poUtical  talk,  from  which  I  gleaned  that  Brassey^ 
replacing  Campbell-Bannerman  2  seemed  to  give  i^^ssatis faction. 
Brassey's  old  place  was  to  have  been  given  to  Mr.  Duff, 
a  reward  to  a  Whip  being  usual.  But  when  Lord  North- 
brook  came  home  and  found  that  Brassey  was  to  succeed 
Campbell-B.  at  the  Admiralty  he  protested  and  insisted  on  a 
certain  Mr.  Fowler,  an  M.P.  and  sharp  soUcitor,  being  put 
in  instead  of  Duff.  They  all  told  anecdotes  of  "  bloomers  " 
in  H.  of  Commons  speeches.  One  man  said,  "  We  will  plant 
the  British  flag  on  the  crest  of  every  wave."  Another,  "  The 
white  face  of  the  British  soldier  is  the  backbone  of  the 
Indian  Army."  Another,  "  We  will  embark  on  the  feature 
upon  which  this  question  hinges  !  " 

Our  kind  friends'  house  breaks  one's  heart.  It  is  so 
upholstered  and  might  have  had  such  dignity.  I  hear  when 
the  Camarvons  went  to  stay  at  Montreal  they  evidently 
thought  they  were  going  to  a  desert  wilderness ;  their  luggage 
passed  belief,  and  included  stores  of  tinned  meat,  biscuits,  etc., 
and  a  large  bath. 

20th  November  1884. 

I  have  a  thousand  and  one  little  nothingnesses  to  tell  you,      Lady 
and  you  are  very  encouraging  in  your  letters  and  always  say  ^^^^^^y- 
my  rubbish  amuses  you,  so  I  reaUy  hope  it  does.     When  I 
think  of  all  you  have  on  your  hands  and  in  your  brain,  I  feel 
almost  hopeless  of  your  ever  finding  time  to  read  it.     I  dined 

*  Sir  T.  Brassey,  created  first  Earl  of  Brassey. 

*  Sir  H.  Campbell-Bannerman,  Prime  Minister,  1905. 
10 


146  THE  LETTERS  OF 

on  the  i6th  with  the  old  Bretts,  a  pleasant  party  though  rather 
strangely  composed.  The  Richard  Wallaces,  Mrs.  Henry 
Leigh — sister  and  sister-in-law  to  Mrs.  Gerard  Leigh,  now 
Mme  de  Falbe — Miss  Gurwood,  and  I  were  the  four  women  ;  and 
the  men,  Bodley  (secretary  to  Dilke),  Lord  Justice  Bowen,  old 
Lord  Gerard,  and  a  pleasant  diplomat  called  Haggard.  Lady 
Wallace's  presence  was  rather  *'  springing  a  mine  "  on  one,  but 
she  is  most  harmless  and  dowdy,  refuses  to  speak  a  word  of 
EngUsh.  Sir  Richard  Wallace  is  charming.  I  made  up  to 
him  and  he  has  promised  that  we  shall  go  alone  to  see  his  house 
in  the  spring.  He  is  a  most  attractive  man,  I  think.  On  Satur- 
day at  the  Skirrows,  a  very  different  lot — old  Browning,  Sala 
(who  is  just  off  to  AustraUa  for  eighteen  months),  "  Miss 
Braddon,"  and  her  husband,  Mr.  Maxwell.  Tuesday,  Mrs.  Lang 
and  I  went  to  see  Les  Pattes  de  Mouches ;  most  amusing  and 
not  improper  at  all.  Last  night  at  the  George  Trevelyans 
the  precedence  went  astray.  I  was  sent  in  before  Lady  Sudeley 
and  with  Lord  Carlingford  !  and  as  Lord  President  of  the 
Council  he  goes  in  before  a  Duke.  Louie  is  engaged  to  Mr. 
Hanbury,  aged  thirty-one,  of  Pontyport  Park,  6  feet  in  his 
stockings  and  £20,000  a  year.  I  am  delighted.  Then  Mary, 
after  twelve  years  of  matrimony,  is  going  to  have  a  baby. 
She  fell  down,  hurt  her  side,  lay  on  a  sofa  for  three  weeks — 
and  this  is  the  result. 

2yth  November  1S84. 

Lady  I  hope  you  are  edii&ed  at  my  economy  in  using  up  my  old 

Woiseley.  j)ai|.Qjj  j^jlJ  paper  on  you !  I  am  not  afraid  of  your  taking  it 
into  your  head  that  I  am  Uving  there  now,  as  any  one  else  might 
do.  Your  letters  fill  me  with  amazement  at  the  wonderful 
way  you  have  foreseen  so  many  of  the  difficulties  of  your  cam- 
paign which  I  should  have  thought  no  one  would  know  of 
without  being  on  the  spot.  You  are  a  very  wonderful  and 
very  clever  little  General !  I  am  quite  sure  you  must  be 
worrying  to  get  on  and  get  to  Gordon,  and  those  hateful 
steamers  breaking  down  must  perturb  even  you.  I  got  your 
letter  of  5th  November  on  25th,  and  immediately  after  a 
letter  from  Messrs.  Cook,  putting  themselves  at  my  disposal. 
However,  I  have  written  to  say  that  I  am  not  going  to  Cairo 
at  present — but,  that  when  I  do  go,  I  will  certainly  write  and 
ask  them  to  help  me.     I  don't  like  this  rumour  of  small-pox  at 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  147 

Dongola.  I  hope  it  is  nothing.  Please  always  tell  me  frankly 
if  you  are  ill.  I  shall  be  much  less  anxious  if  you  tell  me  the 
exact  state  of  the  case.  I  am  sure  to  hear  it,  and  would  much 
rather  know  it  from  you.  Have  your  delays  so  far  been  greater 
than  you  expected,  and  are  the  difficulties  greater  or  less  ? 
Answer  this.  I  am  discreet,  as  you  know.  I  shall  feel  anxious 
about  you  till  you  are  at  Khartoum.  I  wish  you  would  have 
a  little  cord  ladder  hanging  down  from  your  camel  to  cUmb 
up  by  in  case  he  gets  up  too  soon.  I  am  sure  this  would  be  a 
good  precaution  for  you  and  others  and  prevent  Prince  Imperial 
catastrophes. 

All  Friday  and  Saturday  from  10  to  4  I  spent  at  the  Adams 
and  Coleridge  trial.  I  went  with  Mrs.  Lang,  and  a  Judge,  Sir  C. 
Bowen,  gave  us  seats  and  luncheon  in  his  rooms.  The  Roundells 
were  also  of  the  party,  and  old  BaHol  Brett,  in  his  majestic 
wig,  lunched  too.  Judge  Manisty  has  got  into  great  hot 
water  by  reversing  the  jury's  verdict  for  Adams,  and  giving 
his  verdict  for  Coleridge.  It  is  said  that  he,  the  Judge,  had 
a  quarrel  himself  with  Lord  Coleridge  some  time  ago,  and 
that  he  leant  to  the  Coleridge  side  all  through  the  trial 
lest  he  should  be  suspected  of  spite  to  them  on  account 
of  the  quarrel.  At  that  rate  it  would  be  well  to  pull  the 
judge's  nose  the  day  before  one  was  tried  to  ensure  his 
giving  a  verdict  in  one's  favour.  Some  of  the  witnesses 
were  deaf  and  some  bothered,  which  lead  to  most  amusing 
mistakes.  Sir  Henry  James  1  was  undignifiedly  sharp  and  cross, 
I  thought.  Altogether  I  was  not  impressed  with  the  scales  of 
justice  being  very  fairly  held.  Good-bye,  my  dearest  Damy. 
Shut  your  eyes  tight  in  a  dust-storm,  don't  tumble  off  your 
camel,  don't  bathe  in  the  Nile  for  fear  of  the  Croqueniles,  and 
run  away  the  moment  you  are  in  any  danger. 

12th  December  1884. 
Your  letter  of  the  27th  November,  which  reached  Aie  on      Lady 
Tuesday  (16),  was  alarming  in  the  way  of  what  might  have  been      °  ^  ^• 
in  the  matter  of  your  tumble  from  that  camel.     I  wonder  much 
the  correspondents  have  not  got  hold  of  it,  but  not  a  word  of  it 
has  appeared  in  the  papers.     Nevertheless,  I  have  told  it  to  a 
few  people,  for  there  is  so  little  in  your  letters  that  I  can  and  do 
tell  (I  am  very  discreet,  I  assure  you)  that  that  seemed  to  me 
1  Afterwards  Lord  James  of  Hereford. 


148  THE  LETTERS  OF 

quite  allowable,  and  it  is  even  advisable  that  people  should 
know  what  personal  discomforts  and  perils  you  go  through. 
I  am  sure  otherwise  they  think  you  lie  on  a  bed  of  roses.  How 
dreadful  if  you  had  been  laid  up  with  a  broken  rib  or  collar-bone  ! 
How  you  would  have  fumed  and  fretted  at  your  work  being 
"  entrave  "  !  I  cannot  think  what  would  have  happened.  I 
declare  I  would  be  tied  on,  I  think,  in  future.  I  liked  your 
last  letter  and  epanchements  particularly.  I  wish  you  would 
oftener  write  as  openly  as  that ;  but  you  can  only  do  it,  I  know, 
as  the  spirit  moves  you,  only  never  think  that  I  am  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  it.  Don't  let  that  feeling  ever  withhold  you.  I  don't 
think  you  and  I  talk  enough  about  our  feelings,  but  then  at  home 
you  are  always  in  a  hurry  !  You  have  no  time  for  God  or  me. 
I  don't  say  that  unkindly,  my  dear,  but  it  is  a  fact — ^is  it  not  ? 
The  Baroness  Burdett-Coutts  has  brought  me  in  contact 
with  her  brother-in-law,  Ashmead.  He  owns  a  Conservative 
"  weekly  "  called  England,  and  wants  to  write  a  popular  article 
for  it  on  Egypt.  She  asked  me  if  I  would  give  him  a  few  ex- 
tracts for  it  from  your  letters.  It  is  not  to  be  in  the  least 
political,  merely  narrative.  Accordingly  I  copied  out  a  few 
very  safe — and  rather  uninteresting — ^things  for  him,  and  he 
came  here  for  them.  You  need  not  tremble  for  an  indiscretion. 
I  mentioned  the  nurses  dining  with  you,  the  women  slinging 
the  birds  in  the  fields,  your  ride  to  Wady  Haifa,  sleeping  boots, 
feeding  on  dates,  fourteen  hours  on  your  camel,  etc.  etc.  I 
trust  you  won't  disapprove,  but  at  any  rate  there  need  be  no 
alarm  in  your  mind.    The  Conservatives  may  come  in,  so  it  is 

best  to  be  civil.     I  have  made  a  round  of  studios  with  Lady . 

I  don't  dislike  her  now,  but  I  don't  care  about  her.  She  is  an 
old  "  gamine,"  with  no  high-minded  views,  beliefs,  or  aspirations. 
She  spends  her  life  turning  cart-wheels  for  the  sake  of  seeming 
original.  Even  her  taste  is  broker's  taste,  and  her  house,  with 
all  the  good  things  she  has  in  it,  a  dirty,  ill-arranged  den.  Also 
she  is  so  strong  about  class,  while  she  does  nothing  to  dignify 
the  class  she  is  proud  of  belonging  to  ;  for  she  is  proud  of  it, 
despite  her  cheap  trips  and  her  cart-wheels.  She  said  to  me 
to-day,  apropos  of  artists,  *'  I  am  so  glad  that  clever  people 
of  their  class  are  admitted  now  amongst  us  ;  they  never  used  to 
be."  I  said  I  hoped  the  clever  people  appreciated  the  advan- 
tage ;  they  certainly  had  little  to  gain  by  it,  and  must  meet 
with  much  dullness.    She  is  something  of  a  snob  who,  to  put 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  149 

herself  en  relief,  affects  airs  of  equality,  but  they  are  only  skin 
deep.  On  the  whole,  she  leaves  rather  a  bad  taste  in  one's 
mouth. 


12th  December  1884. 

I  feel  very  lost  without  a  letter  from  you.  I  keep  on  dining  Lady 
out,  and  seeing  people  and  all  that,  but  I  want  a  letter  from  you  °  ^*  ^* 
to  give  a  thread  of  interest  and  continuity  to  my  life.  I  feel 
anxious  about  you,  and  for  you,  just  now.  I  know  you  are 
tied  for  time  and  that  whatever  good  face  you  may  put  upon 
it  to  others,  you  must  feel  anxious  about  getting  to  Khartoum 
in  time.  I  counted  up  the  forty  days  Gordon  gave  you,  and 
find  they  are  up  to-morrow  (13th),  and  how  you  must  have 
counted  them.  I  send  you  a  Morning  Post  article  in  this  letter, 
mentioning  the  forty  days.  Mr.  Hopkins  writes  me  that  he 
thinks  you  will  be  annoyed  at  its  appearing  in  print,  and  suggests 
where  the  leakage  has  occurred.  I  am  sure  the  Government 
will  be  angry,  because  little  Hobart  begged  me  to  keep  the  forty 
days  secret,  and  of  course  I  did,  and  you  should  have  been  better 
served  by  a  privileged  person. 

On  Friday  I  dined  with  Miss  Gurwood,  Lady  Brett's  sister 
— a  very  bright   party.     Sir  C.  Dilke  was  there ;  you  know, 
however,  I  don't  like  him.     He  told  me,  as  a  secret,  that  a  dis- 
patch from  you  had  caused  great  amusement  at  the  P.O. ;  in 
it  you  had  begged  no  hum-drum  Generals  might  be  employed  ! 
They  seemed  to  think  that  most  daring  of  you.      There  also 
dined  a  Mr.  Haggard  of  the  Foreign  Office  ;  he  has  a  brother, 
a  Colonel  H.  at  Suakin,  who,  he  says,  is  very  '*  dashing  " — and 
would  I  say  a  good  word  to  you  about  him.     I  said  I  would  tell 
you  of  him,  if  Mr.  H.  promised  to  tell  me  in   return   all  the 
secrets  not  publicly  recorded  in  your  dispatches  to  the  Foreign 
Office.      I  don't  think  we  shall  get  much  out  of  one  another  ! 
Lady  Arthur  Russell  is  still  separated  from  the  world  by  Flora's 
scarlet -fever,  but  we  walk  together  in  the  open  air  in  the  park 
from  12  to  I  (Hutton  says  that  is  quite  safe)  almost  everyday. 
She  is  so  clever  and  delightful.     It  is  fresh  air  for  one's  mind 
and  body.     Mrs.  Earle  thinks  Sir  C.  Dilke  will  marry  Mrs.  Mark 
Pattison  ;   at  least  Mrs.  M.  P.  (she  will  still  be  Mrs.  "  M.  P." 
when  she  marries  Sir  Charles,  won't  she  ?)  leads  her  to  think 
so  by  her  radiancy  and  by  the  notes  she  gets  from  Sir  C. ; 


150  THE  LETTERS  OF 

but  Lady  Arthur  says,   "  Some  women  always  write  and  the 
men  must  answer ;  so  that  proves  nothing.*' 

I  am  cultivating  a  new  talent  in  Frances,  and  having 
her  taught  to  carve — ^fowls,  I  mean,  not  wood.  I  got  one 
of  the  waiters  to  come  and  give  her  a  lesson,  and  he  says 
she  got  on  very  well.  I  have  just  had  four  brace  of  pheasants 
sent  me,  so  that  will  be  a  good  practice  for  her.  Marianne  is  to 
have  No.  7  while  the  Colonel  is  campaigning.  That  man  must 
be  muzzled. 

2Sth  December  1884. 

Lady  Yesterday  morning  I  got  your  letter  of  ist  to  4th  December, 

^"^^'  containing  your  address  to  the  troops  and  Colonel  Butler's 
letter,  also  a  mention,  once  or  twice,  of  your  hip  still  hurting  you. 
I  don't  at  all  want  to  croak,  but  I  think  you  must  have  strained 
it,  or  more  than  bruised  it — or  it  would  not  continue  to  hurt  you 
for  so  long.  I  shall  be  anxious  to  hear  more  about  it.  Pray 
tell  me  exactly  what  you  feel,  and  any  accidents  or  illness  that 
you  have.  I  shall  feel  so  much  less  anxious  if  I  can  always 
count  on  knowing  exactly  how  you  are  from  yourself.  Then 
in  your  letter  you  lament  your  previous  letter  to  me.  I  assure 
you  I  am  sure  it  would  bring  us  much  closer  together  if  you 
would  always  tell  me  your  melancholy  and  downcast  feelings 
as  well  as  your  bright  ones.  You  know  I  have  always  told  you 
that  when  you  have  run  away  at  a  battle,  I  shall  be  really  fond 
of  you.  I  don't  suppose  you  want  to  pay  so  heavy  a  price  for 
my  affection  !  but,  what  I  mean  is,  that  my  estimate  of  you  is 
neither  raised  nor  lowered  by  the  esteem  in  which  you  are  held 
by  a  few  thousand  English  jackasses.  I  should  not  grieve  like 
Lady  Colley  if  you  had  a  failure,  because  of  public  opinion. 
I  should  grieve  because  it  would  grieve  you,  but  I  should  know 
the  failure  was  inevitable,  and  what  all  the  other  people  thought 
would  not  move  me  or  even  interest  me.  You  often  feel,  I  am 
sure,  a  numbness  in  me  from  want  of  ambition,  but  at  least  it 
must  leave  me  the  qualities  of  my  defects,  and  my  interest  in 
public  opinion,  or  faith  in  it,  will  not  begin  when  your  success 
ceases. 

Now  about  your  address  to  the  soldiers .  I  think  it  excellent,  not 
in  the  least  bombastic,  clear,  manly,  and  dignified.  I  don't  smell 
the  sawdust  of  the  circus,  or  hear  Franconi's  whip  punctuating 
the  paragraphs.     No,  I  think  you  may  be  well  satisfied  with  it. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  151 

Now  about  your  unruly  subordinate.  I  can  quite  understand 
your  annoyance,  and  you  were  right  to  pull  him  up  and  make 
him  feel  he  must  obey,  but  I  think  his  chief  offence  is  trop  de  zele, 
and  the  manner  of  his  offence  is  due  to  his  being  an  im-perfect 
gentleman. 

Here  is  something  military  for  you,  but  I  fear  other  pens 
will  have  written  it  to  you.  General  Harman  was  my  informant. 
It  seems  the  W.O.  was  thrown  into  consternation  lately  by 
Sir  A.  Herbert  getting  a  letter  recently  from  Sir  H.  Ponsonby, 
saying  H.M.,  while  recognising  (it  is  always  dangerous  when 
they  show  recognition)  how  ably  he  was  performing  your  A.G. 
duties,  felt  he  was  overtaxed,  and  that  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe- 
Weimar  had  better  now  take  them,  as  the  present  temporary 
arrangement  could  not  continue. 

Poor  Sir  A.  H.  was  terribly  perturbed,  and,  by  advice,  wrote 
an  answer  couched  in  circumspect  language,  saying  he  was  not 
overworked,  and,  of  course,  if  he  were  not  giving  satisfaction 
he  would  retire,  but,  etc.  .  .  . 

The  Duke  was  away  shooting  at  this  time,  and  General  H. 
seems  to  think  was  no  party  to  the  plot,  and  was  indeed  dead 
against  it.  So  Sir  A.  H.'s  letter  was  accepted,  and  there  the 
matter  rests,  I  believe. 

To-day  being  Christmas  Day  I  was  to  have  dined  at  the 
Hennikers',  but  I  felt  so  seedy — a  coming  cold — that  I  sent  an 
excuse.  I  did  not  feel  up  to  Helen  and  her  "  mashers."  I  have 
not  dined  out  at  all  this  week,  and  have  enjoyed  reading  at 
home  very  much  indeed.  You  will  be  amused  at  my  prosaic 
Christmas  box  to  Pannebakker.i  I  gave  her  half  her  false  teeth  ! 
that  is,  a  cheque  for  £8 — ^half  the  amount  she  is  to  give  for  them. 

Hobart  paid  me  a  long  visit  lately.  You  seem  to  keep 
them  all  in  the  dark  as  to  your  future.  Meanwhile,  I  let  him 
see  Gordon's  letter,  and  he  partly  read  it.  I  thought  after- 
wards I  had  perhaps  done  wrong,  and  there  might  be  portions  of 
it  you  had  kept  from  the  Government,  even ;  however,  he  had 
only  a  bird's-eye  glance  of  it.  No  one  else  has  been  or  will  be 
allowed  to  do  more  than  look  at  it.  I  enclose  Ashmead  B.'s 
article,  in  which  you  will  recognise  the  extracts  from  your  own 
letters. 

P.S. — Last  night  (25th)  at  12  o'clock  Mr.  Lawson  sent  me 
his  correspondent's  telegram  about  your  Christmas  festivities, 
*  Sometime  governess  to  the  present  Viscountess  Wolseley. 


152    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

your  attending  the  "  Concert,"  and  the  Duke  and  Lord  H. 
telegraphing  to  you.     I  was  sitting  over  my  fire  with  Carlyle. 

Our  servants  drank  our  health  at  their  supper,  "  all  stand- 
ing/' Truman  said,  "  Hke  for  the  Queen." 

2Sth  December  1884. 

At  the  Jeunes'  dinner  the  other  night  I  sat  next  General 
Lady  Crealock,  and  knowing  him  to  be  "against  "  you  I  made  myself 
Woiseiey.  ^^  pleasant  as  possible,  so  that  he  should  not  pay  himself  the 
comphment  of  thinking  we  were  leagued  together  against  him. 
They  had  no  stars  like  Miss  Fortescue,  but  a  coruscation  or 
two,  of  Justin  M'Carthy — ^with  whom  I  had  a  long  talk — and 
his  son,  who  has  suddenly  come  into  notice  by  writing  a  smart 
play  full  of  poUtical  allusions.  Also  Mr.  Hurlbert  dined  there, 
an  American,  who  is  a  possible  successor  to  Lowell,  who  may 
leave  on  the  change  of  parties  consequent  on  the  election  of 
the  new  President — and  Heaven  go  with  him,  say  I !  Saturday 
to  Monday  I  spent  at  Alderbrook.  Lady  Reay  was  too  amus- 
ing !  affecting  to  be  so  well  informed,  so  prematurely  informed 
on  all  political  subjects,  that  if  you  asked  her  the  most  simple 
question  of  when  the  House  would  adjourn  she  appeared  afraid 
to  commit  herself.  She  was  a  good  match  for  the  Transatlantic 
Lowell.  Fancy  his  saying  some  woman  had  the  "  good  fortune  *' 
to  have  an  American  grandmother !  It  seemed  to  me  the  good 
fortune  consisted  in  its  being  a  further  away  connection  than 
a  mother. 

Lady  Wood  has  got  into  ill  odour  with  Her  Majesty  by  taking 
upon  herself  to  write  to  the  Queen  pretty  often  and  give  her 
ideas  of  people  and  things  respecting  Egypt.  It  has  been 
notified  to  her  that  she  is  not  to  write  again,  and  the  Queen 

thinks  Lady  Wood's  head  has  been  turned  by  the  notice  H.M. 

took  of  her. 

My  dearest  little  General,  how  feeble  and  futile  are  my 

little  sayings  to  you  with  such  work  on  hand.     If  you  despise 

the  Distribution  Bill,  what  must  you  think  of  my  poor  sayings. 

Still  you  like  me,  not  to  use  a  stronger  word,  and  that  covers 

a  multitude  of  deficiencies,  I  hope. 


1 885 


CHAPTER  XII 

Camp  Korti,  8/1/85. 

If  you  will  read  my  journal  you  will  see  something  to  interest      Lord 
you,  as  I  give  the  outline  of  the  recent  communications  I  have  ^^^^^^^• 
had  with  our  Government  upon  the  subject  of  my  campaign 
and  the  plans  I  intend  following.     I  am  very  sorry  I  have  told 
them  as  much  as  I  have  done,  for  the  less  one  tells  them  the 
better.     I  had  better  tell  you  I  think  you  have  done  enough 

now  for  Mrs. ,  and  would  not  advise  your  stopping  to  speak 

to  her  anywhere  in  pubHc.  Poor  woman,  I  pity  her,  for  I  feel 
she  never  had  a  chance,  but  was  made  what  she  is  by  her  own 
mother  and  her  husband.  Butler  is  now  in  camp  and  seems 
subdued. 

You  will  see  by  my  journal  that  I  have  given  up  all  intention 
of  forcing  my  way  into  Khartoum  with  a  small  column  owing 
to  the  warning  that  Gordon  sent  me  by  his  messenger.  I  expect 
Sir  Charles  Wilson  back  here  on  the  28th  instant,  having  been 
into  Khartoum.  He  will  be  able  to  tell  me  what  Gordon's  pros- 
pects and  wishes  really  are.  In  the  meantime,  I  am  collect- 
ing supplies  at  Matammeh  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  all  contin- 
gencies. This  delay  is  provoking,  but  it  all  leans  towards 
increased  safety,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  less  risk.  The  Govern- 
ment seem  to  be  in  a  funk  about  me  and  my  Army,  as  you  will 
perceive  from  my  journal  :  I  am  in  hopes  that  my  winding  up 
a  telegram  by  a  request  for  umbrellas  may  amuse  you.  I  think 
I  told  you  in  my  journal  that  I  have  written  now  three  times  to 
Her  Majesty,  and  as  yet  have  neither  had  any  thanks  nor  any 
notice  taken  of  my  letters. 

gp.m.,  4th  January  1885. — Just  heard  from  Herbert  Stewart, 

who  will  be  here  to-morrow,  two  days  earlier  than  I  expected. 

I  enclose  you  his  private  note  to  me,  as  I  think  it  may  interest 

you.     It  is  a  comfort  to  have  such  a  man  to  work  with.     He 

153 


154  THE  LETTERS  OF 

is  always  cheery — always  prepared  to  undertake  any  job,  no 
matter  how  unpleasant  it  may  be,  and  the  very  best  Staff  Officer 
all  round  I  have  known  since  poor  Colley's  death.  As  I  have 
already  telegraphed  this  news  home,  it  will  be  a  month  old  when 
this  reaches  you. 

Will  you  please  see  Sir  A.  Herbert  and  ask  him  to  get  Mr. 
Hopkins  to  purchase  wholesale  in  the  city  six  thousand  wooden 
pipes  for  me,  and  to  have  them  sent  to  me  to  Wady  Haifa.  I 
intend  them  as  presents  for  the  men  who  relieve  Khartoum. 
They  are  all  badly  off  for  pipes  already,  and  I  don't  think  I 
could  give  them  from  myself  a  more  acceptable  present. 

Monday,  12th  January. — ^The  post  goes  out  this  morning,  so 
I  am  finishing  this  by  candlelight  at  a  very  early  hour.  Evelyn 
Wood  dined  with  me  last  night.  He  is  much  deafer  than  he 
was,  and  his  eyes  are  much  inflamed.  In  other  respects  he 
looks  very  well.  He  has  resigned  his  appointment  in  the 
Egyptian  Army,  or  perhaps  I  ought  to  say,  it  has  resigned  him, 
because  the  pay  is  to  be  reduced  to  £2000  per  annum ;  I  don't 
blame  him.  I  am  having  an  account  kept  of  my  mess  expenses 
in  this  country,  so  as  to  make  a  claim  for  them  when  I  return 
home.  The  pay  allowed  to  a  man  in  my  position  is  simply 
ridiculous  if  one  is  to  keep  up  that  position  as  it  should  be 
maintained. 


^r:  KoRTi,  15/1/85. 

Lord  ^       I  am  deeply  hurt  by  a  letter  from  the  Queen,  which  I  enclose  ; 

^  *'*^'  it  seems  to  me  ungracious  to  a  General  in  the  field  fighting  her 
battles.  I  have  always  regarded  the  peace  [of  Majuba]  made 
by  Wood  as  infamous,  and  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  in  my 
own  mind  that  it  would  never  have  been  made  if  General 
Roberts  had  not  been  sent  out  to  supersede  Wood.  This  fact 
drove  Wood  to  make  an  end  to  the  war,  cotite  que  coute,  before 
Roberts  could  arrive  to  supersede  him.  Such  is  the  whole  story 
but,  of  course,  because  the  Queen  likes  Wood  she  beUeves  that 
he  only  made  the  terms  he  did  because  he  was  forced  by  the 
Government  to  make  them.  When  a  General  is  desired  by  his 
Government  to  do  anything  that  he  regards  as  infamous  it  is 
Jiis  duty  to  resign  and  say  why  he  resigns. 

George   Colley,   whom  the   Queen  reproaches — she  adopts 
Wood's  story  —  would  never  have  carried  out  the  poHcy  that 


^s 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  155 

Wood  did  (Evelyn  was  promoted  to  be  a  General  for  this  un- 
happy act),  and  poor  Colley  said  so  in  one  of  the  last  letters  he 
ever  wrote. 

However,  I  am  very  sorry  I  referred  to  the  matter  in  one 
of  my  letters  to  the  Queen — all  I  said  was,  apropos  to  our  action 
in  Africa,  that  I  hoped  we  should  be  able  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace 
of  "  General  Wood's  ignominious  peace."  I  wrote  at  the  same 
time  about  him  to  her  very  nicely,  saying  he  was  working  hard 
and  doing  all  he  could  to  help  me.  As  she  is  the  Queen  I 
cannot  argue,  so  I  must  be  silent. 

You  do  not  say  a  word  in  your  pleasant  letter  of  what  your 
plans  are.  I  cannot  be  home  before  June  at  earliest,  but  I  hope 
you  will  be  at  home  when  I  return.  Oh,  how  I  long  for  the  days 
to  pass  !  This  next  fortnight  will  be  a  most  trying  time  to  me. 
I  expect  Sir  C.  Wilson  with  two  steamers  and  about  100  soldiers 
and  50  of  the  Royal  Navy  to  reach  Khartoum  next  Tuesday, 
the  20th  instant,  and  that  Wilson  will  get  back  to  Matammeh 
on  23rd,  and  be  here  on  evening  of  27th  or  morning  of  28th.  On 
the  news  he  brings  will  depend  all  my  future  movements.  Then, 
again,  Earle  moves  into  the  enemy's  country  on  the  21st,  and 
unless  the  enemy  bolt  he  will  attack  them,  I  hope,  on  the  26th 
or  27th  instant. 

Herbert  Stewart  will,  I  hope !  occupy  Matammeh  to-morrow, 
and  I  ought  to  know  the  result,  whether  he  has  done  so  without 
opposition  or  after  a  fight,  on  the  20th  instant. 

You  can  well  understand,  therefore,  how  my  poor  brain  will 
be  on  the  stretch  throughout  the  next  fortnight. 

My  dear  child,  what  a  host  of  enemies  I  have  !  Do  you  suppose 
it  is  only  the  usual  number  that  a  successful  General  has,  or 
is  there  something  about  me  that  makes  men  bear  me  ill-will  ? 
I  believe  there  are  many  who  would  rejoice  if  this  expedition 
failed,  because  its  failure  would  be  mine.  And  yet  in  general 
society  I  don't  think  I  am  disHked.  I  wish  your  palmistry 
friend  could  explain  to  me  this  mystery.  To  tell  me  my 
fortune  at  51J  years  of  age  would  be  rather  absurd,  and  yet 
remember  if  Marlborough  had  died  at  50  his  name  would  be 
unknown  to  fame,  and  the  House  of  Commons  would  have  no 
fourth  party,  for  Randolph  Churchill  would  have  been  a 
simple  Mr.  Spencer,  possibly  wheeling  a  "barrow  through 
streets  broad  and  narrow,"  selling  cockles  or  gingerbread. 
A  weariness  comes  over  me  at  times,  possibly  the  result  of 


156  THE  LETTERS  OF 

years,  but  which  I  fancy  arises  from  a  feeling  that,  work  as  I 
may,  there  is  always  a  powerful  clique,  studded  all  over  with 
Royal  personages,  who  are  determined  to  denigrer  all  I  do  that 
is  useful.  Sometimes  I  think  that  I  ought  to  settle  down  to  spend 
my  remaining  years  in  ease  and  comfort.  A  small  country  place 
with  plenty  of  books  in  the  house,  a  nice  garden,  with  woods 
and  heather  and  running  water  beyond,  make  up  a  picture  my 
mind  dehghts  in  dwelHng  upon.  The  centre  of  every  such 
picture  is  you. 

"  Windsor  Castle,  i^th  December  1884. 

Letter  "  The  Queen  thanks  Lord  Wolseley  for  two  very  interesting 

from  the  letters  of  the  21st  September  from  Cairo,  and  of  the  8th  Nov- 
^^^^"' .   ember  from  Dongola. 

"  We  are  quite  aware  of  the  impossibility  of  more  rapid  pro- 
gress, and  of  the  unfortunate  results  of  too  long  delay  before  a 
decision  was  taken. 

"  It  must  cause  Lord  Wolseley  many  an  anxious  thought,  and 
we  look  with  great  anxiety — daily,  for  news. 
/"  "  As  Lord  Wolseley  is  always  frank  himself,  the  Queen  will  be 
equally  so.  She  must  therefore  say  that  she  does  not  like  his 
promise  of  a  100  pounds  to  the  regiment  which  proceeds  with 
the  greatest  rapidity.  British  soldiers  should  be  able  to  do  this 
without  a  reward  being  held  out,  and  she  fears  it  is  not  a  good 
\precedent . 

"  Again,  Lord  Wolseley  speaks  of  *  Sir  E.  Wood's  ignominious 
peace,'  which  is  most  unjust.  Sir  Evelyn  was  ordered  to  make 
Peace  by  the  Government  here,  and  was  unable  (to  use  his  own 
words)  *  to  drive  the  Boers  off  Lang  Neik  '  ;  the  defeat  of  Sir 
G.  Colley  should  rather  be  called  ignominious.  Since  this  Peace 
Sir  E.  Wood  has  always  been  put  in  a  position  where  he  had 
no  scope  for  showing  his  great  fighting  powers. 

"The  Queen  rejoices  to  hear  that  the  health  of  the  troops  is 
till  now  good — ^there  will  be  many  an  anxious  heart  and  many 
an  empty  place  round  British  hearths  at  Christmas. 

''The  Queen  concludes  by  wishing  Lord  Wolseley  and  her 
excellent  troops  every  possible  success  in  his  arduous  under- 
taking, and  a  happy  and  prosperous  New  Year. 

"  She  deeply  deplores  Colonel  Stewart's  untimely  end." 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  157 

Friday,  16th  January. — This  morning,  when  out  riding  with 
Spencer  Childers — whom  I  Hke  very  much — ^in  talking  over  the 
power  exercised  by  the  Queen  apropos  to  Connaught  ever  being 
Commander-in-Chief,  he  said  the  difficulty  always  is  to  get 
a  Cabinet  to  be  unanimous  in  opposing  the  Queen's  wishes. 
"  For  instance,  upon  a  matter  concerning  yourself,  my  father 
was  beaten  because  Hartington  and  the  Whig  lot  would  not  agree 
to  withstand  the  Queen."  If  the  Cabinet  had  told  Her  Majesty, 
as  Gladstone  and  Childers  wanted,  that  they  would  resign, 
then  she  must  have  given  way ;  but  the  Whigs  said  to  them- 
selves. Why  fight  the  Queen  for  Sir  G.  Wolseley  ?  I  am  glad 
to  know  this,  as  I  always  thought  myself  badly  used.  The 
Radicals  were  all  for  insisting  on  my  peerage  ;  the  Whigs — 
weak-kneed  as  they  have  always  been  for  the  last  eighty  years — 
were  prepared  to  throw  over  anybody  not  political,  and  from 
whom  they  had  nothing  to  fear.  They  are  like  the  people 
here,  remorseless  to  those  in  their  power,  and  the  only  lever  you 
can  move  them  by  is  fear :  of  gratitude  for  services  rendered 
they  know  nothing. 

Saturday,  lyth  January. — Just  received  the  enclosed  note 
from  Herbert  Stewart.  I  had  hoped  he  would  have  occupied 
Matammeh  to-day,  but  he  will  not  do  so  until  to-morrow, 
Sunday.  I  wish  you  to  see  from  his  note  what  fettle  our 
men  are  in.  If  you  hear  any  croakers  giving  vent  to  their 
lamentations  you  can  quote  Stewart.  Since  I  landed  in  Egypt 
I  have  smoked  very  little  and  I  am  ever  so  much  better.  I 
still  feel  the  privation  horribly,  and  as  I  look  at  the  cigar  case 
now  on  my  table  I  long  to  open  it  and  smoke  contents.  I  felt 
that  my  nerve  was  not  as  good  as  it  used  to  be,  so  I  gave  it  up 
in  consequence,  and  the  result  has  been  all  I  expected.  I  wish 
I  had  never  smoked.  I  am  now  giving  up  tea,  and  contemplate 
giving  up  wine ;  the  latter  would  be  no  privation,  but  I  do 
like  my  tea.  However,  to  give  up  any  eatable  or  drinkable  is 
a  small  matter  compared  with  giving  up  smoking,  especially 
whilst  living  this  life.  I  dine  at  7  and  generally  get  into  my 
tent  again  at  8.30  p.m.,  where  I  write  perhaps  for  an  hour,  or 
else  walk  round  my  tent  thinking.  It  is  then  that  I  feel  most 
intensely  the  longing,  the  craving,  for  a  cigar.  I  remember 
how  I  used  to  pity  men  obhged  to  use  spectacles  and  who 
talked  of  certain  things  disagreeing  with  them  :  they  could 
not   do   this   or  that  :    now   here   I   am  giving  up  smoking 


158  THE  LETTERS  OF 

because  it  affects  my  heart  and  nerves,  ^and  contemplating 
giving  up  wine.  You  know  that  for  me  nerve  is  of  the  first 
importance  :  if  I  fail  in  the  least  in  that  respect  I  should  be 
very  wrong  to  accept  any  command  in  the  field.  When  my 
nerve  goes  you  and  I  must  think  of  Gibraltar  or  Chelsea. 

Camp  Korti,  20th  January  1885. 

''  Lord  My   Dearest, — I   have   had   next   to   nothing   to   do   all 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^  ^^^  consequently  my  brain  has  been  amusing  itself  with 
thinking.  I  could  not  settle  down  to  read — for  I  have  two 
books — Life  of  Cicero  and  of  Frederick  the  Great.  I  have  been 
walking  round  my  tent  purposelessly,  whilst  my  mind  has  been 
off  in  the  desert  wondering  what  news  I  should  hear  this  evening 
or  to-morrow  morning  from  Earle.  I  had  written  so  far  when 
Swaine  came  into  my  tent  in  his  drawers  with  a  telegram  to  say 
that  the  reconnaissances  I  ordered  Earle  to  send  out  along  the 
road  leading  from  Hamdab,  where  he  now  is,  towards  Berber 
had  returned.  The  natives  ran  away  in  all  directions,  so 
although  nothing  in  the  way  of  taking  cattle  or  camels  has  been 
accomplished,  as  I  fondly  hoped  might  take  place,  still  the 
movement  will  frighten  the  enemy  at  Berber,  and  make  them 
think  we  intend  moving  across  desert  to  attack  them.  I  want 
to  frighten  them  and  to  convey  the  idea  generally  that  we  are 
everywhere,  and  going  forward  by  every  route.  Well,  now, 
my  thoughts  are  exclusively  with  Stewart  at  Matammeh,  from 
whom  I  might  hear,  and  I  think  ought  to  hear,  on  Thursday 
next,  the  22nd  instant. 

Fricke  has  just  come  in  to  reprove  me  for  writing  when  I 
ought  to  be  dressing  for  dinner,  for  I  would  have  you  know  I  do 
dress,  even  in  this  outlandish  place,  for  that  meal.  I  wear  blue 
all  day,  and  blaze  forth  in  scarlet  jumper  for  my  thin  soup  and 
claret  and  water. 

After  Dinner. — I  am  disappointed  by  Earle's  reconnais- 
sances, of  which  I  have  now  had  his  official  telegram.  It 
would  have  been  better  if  he  or  Brackenbury  had  gone  in 
command  of  it.  When  the  latter  was  here  last  week  he  rather 
swaggered  at  what  he  meant  to  do.  If  you  look  at  your  map 
you  will  see  a  dotted  line — vindicating  a  desert  track — running 
from  the  Gerendid  Cataract,  about  50  miles  above  this,  to  Berber. 
About  30  or  40  miles  out  on  this  road  from  Hamdab,  where  Earle 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  159 

is  encamped,  is  a  place  called  Bir  Samiyeh  (Bir  means  well)  ; 
there  a  number  of  the  hostile  Monassir  tribe  (the  tribe  that 
murdered  Stewart)  are  encamped  with  their  families  and  their 
cattle.  I  was  most  anxious  to  make  a  sudden  raid  upon  them, 
to  pick  up  a  few  prisoners  and  perhaps  some  camels  and  cattle. 
Earle  and  Brack  have  had  a  week  to  make  preparations  and  this 
is  the  result ! !  Baker  Russell  or  Herbert  Stewart  might  have 
managed  differently.  It  is  blowing  a  gale,  so  Fricke  is  now 
barricading  the  door  of  my  tent  with  my  scant  allowance  of 
baggage,  supplemented  by  some  empty  packing-cases.  When 
I  was  a  small  boy,  whenever  it  blew  and  rained,  my  dear  mother 
always  reminded  us  how  fortunate  we  were  to  have  a  good  roof 
over  our  heads  and  a  comfortable  bed  to  he  on,  when  so  many 
thousands  of  poor  people  were  houseless  and  homeless  and 
comfortless.  Even  now  I  think  of  that  when  I  am  under  my 
shelter  from  any  storm. 

Thursday,  22nd  January. — Yesterday  I  received  the  good 
news  of  Stewart's  victory.  Alas,  it  is  marred  by  heavy 
loss,  especially  among  the  Heavy  Cavalry.  In  a  few  minutes 
all  the  mischief  was  done.  I  am  glad  to  learn  that  no 
Arab  who  ever  got  into  the  square,  or  very  near  it  even,  got 
away.  So  no  man  can  go  back  and  say  he  killed  an  Englishman. 
Stewart  had  some  narrow  squeaks,  I  beUeve.  His  official  report 
will  go  home  by  this  post,  but  I  send  you  herewith  his  private 
letters  to  me,  which  came  in  with  the  official  report  from  him. 
I  hope  to  hear  from  him  again  to-morrow  that  he  has  successfully 
occupied  Matammeh.  One  or  two  more  such  tussles  will  finish 
the  whole  business,  but  it  shows  us  that  we  are  not  to  have  a 
walk-over,  and  that  the  Mahdi  means  to  fight  hard.  I  wish  I 
could  only  get  at  him  at  once  and  end  the  campaign  by  one  big, 
stand-up  fight.  If  he  waits  for  me  at  Khartoum,  he  ought  to 
be  done  for,  as  he  will  have  some  difficulty  in  getting  away  when 
he  is  beaten,  as  beaten  he  will  most  surely  be.  I  am  nervous 
about  Stewart,  for  his  loss — even  his  being  badly  wounded — 
would  really,  at  this  moment,  be  a  national  calamity.  If  he 
lives  through  this  campaign  he  will  be  a  Major-General,  the 
youngest  there  has  been  in  our  day.  I  was  a  Major-General  at 
forty,  but  I  doubt  if  Stewart  is  forty  yet.  When  I  first  met 
him  in  1879,  i^  South  Africa,  he  was  only  a  captain,  so  if  he 
becomes  a  general  officer  this  year,  he  will  have  gone  from 
Captain  to  Major-General  in  six  years.     He  well  deserves  it. 


i6o  THE  LETTERS  OF 

for  he  is,  to  my  mind — taking  him  all  round — by  far  the 
best  man  we  have  got,  better  even  than  Evelyn  Wood  or 
VBuller.  I  am  sure  you  will  be  sorry  for  poor  Burnaby. 
Every  man's  hand  was  against  him  because  people  in  high 
places  frowned  on  him.  He  must  have  died  soon  if  con- 
demned to  live  in  England,  so  I  think  he  is  fortunate  in 
having  died  as  he  did,  fighting  hard,  surrounded  by  desperate 
enemies.  I  enclose  a  letter  from  the  little  King  to  Frances. 
He  is  broken-hearted  at  having  missed  this  fight.  However, 
he  goes  off  to-morrow  in  charge  of  a  convoy  across  the  desert, 
and  I  cheered  his  drooping  spirits  by  telling  him  the  Mahdi 
meant  to  l&ght  it  out  at  Khartoum.  You  have  never  answered 
my  question  about  poor  Sir  William  Muir — ^is  he  still  aUve  ? 
He  had  been  tapped  for  dropsy  before  I  left  home,  and  I  fancy 
that  is  about  the  last  phase  of  the  disease  that  was  killing  him. 
I  don't  read  the  newspapers,  so  half  of  my  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances might  have  died  without  my  knowing  anything  about 
it.  The  Gough  killed  in  the  recent  action  married  one  of  those 
rich  Miss  Guthries  who  are  Lady  Stewart's  nieces.  The  other 
Gough  here — Nora's  brother — ^was  wounded,  but  it  was  only 
a  contusion.  I  shall  be  on  tenterhooks,  as  you  may  imagine, 
until  I  hear  of  Stewart  being  all  right  at  Matammeh.  When 
one  is  present  at  a  fight  oneself  it  is  all  right,  but  when  one  can 
exercise  no  control  whatsoever  over  the  conduct  of  operations 
at  a  great  distance,  I  confess  I  always  feel  a  disagreeable  anxiety. 
As  long  as  Stewart  is  safe  I  don't  mind,  but  a  stray  bullet  might 
at  any  moment  rob  me  of  all  confidence  in  the  success  of  the 
operations  he  is  now  entrusted  with.  Only  fancy  how  all  the 
Generals  of  the  old  School  would  rejoice,  and  yet  howl,  if  any 
serious  repulse  were  encountered  here  ;  their  hatred  of  me  is 
only  equalled  by  my  contempt  for  them. 

Sunday,  2$th  January. — I  am  not  in  a  writing  humour. 
To  you  I  confess  to  being  anxious,  as  I  had  hoped  to  have 
heard  from  Stewart  possibly  last  night,  certainly  to-day. 
However,  I  may  yet  hear  before  night.  Here,  at  this  distance 
from  the  sea,  we  are  now,  at  this  season  of  the  year — ^the  cool 
weather  approaching  its  end — cut  off  from  all  outside  help. 
We  must  fight  this  business  out  on  our  own  bottoms.  It  is  the 
difficulty  of  feeding  my  troops  in  this  howUng  desert  that 
stumps  me.  I  have  troops  enough,  but  cannot  employ  them, 
because  I  cannot  feed  them  beyond  this  point.     We  shall  have 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  i6i 

the  English  post  in  this  evening,  and  I  expect  a  long  letter 
from  your  ladyship,  which  I  know  will  both  interest,  amuse, 
and  soothe  me,  and  take  my  mind  from  the  anxious  thoughts 
it  has  been  feeding  on  for  the  last  few  days.  However,  I  have 
a  great  deal  to  be  thankful  for.  I  have  never  in  any  previous 
campaign  had  such  good  health.  You  know  how  I  generally 
sufier  from  fever.  I  had  a  little  at  Cairo,  but  not  a  twinge  of 
it  that  I  remember  since  I  entered  Nubia  or  the  Soudan.  I 
have  your  photograph  propped  up  in  front  of  me  as  I  write 
this. 

Monday,  26th. — No  news  yet  from  Stewart.  A  private 
cipher  telegram  just  in  from  Hartington  expressing  deepest 
anxiety  about  his  force  :  this  arises  from  the  fact  that  I  heard  of 
his  fight  of  17th  on  21st  inst.,  and  they  naturally  think  I  ought 
to  hear  of  his  further  proceedings  with  equal  rapidity.  The  fact 
is  that  he  had  five  Bashi  Bazouks  with  him  on  the  17th,  and 
gave  them  over  £100  to  ride  straight  on  end  the  150  miles  in 
here.  He  has  now  no  more  of  these  wild  gentlemen  at  his 
command,  and  consequently  must  send  his  dispatches  by 
our  own  people,  who  cannot  ride  camels  like  natives.  Until 
I  hear  from  Stewart,  however,  I  cannot  enjoy  any  letters. 
I  am  sending  Arthur  Creagh  off  into  the  desert  on  a  swift 
camel  to  try  and  meet  Stewart's  messengers,  and  to  ride 
for  his  life  in  here  if  he  meets  them,  bringing  me  Stewart's 
dispatch.  Yesterday  I  sent  Spencer  Childers  on  a  similar 
mission,  but  he  returned  during  dinner  with  no  result.  There 
is  a  little  hill  in  the  desert  about  13  or  14  miles  from  this, 
which  is  the  first  landmark  to  make  for  on  the  road  to  Gakdul 
and  Matammeh — ^it  is  to  this  Creagh  goes  to  look  out.  I  rode 
there  myself  lately,  as  I  have  told  you  in  my  journal. 

I  shall  close  this  now,  as  the  post  must  leave.  It  goes  as 
usual  on  camels,  but  I  am  keeping  a  fast  steam-launch  ready 
to  take  extra  letters  down  the  river  to  overtake  the  post  in 
the  event  of  my  having  good  news  from  Stewart  before  this 
evening.  How  old  all  this  will  be  to  you  when  you  receive 
it !  All  my  anxiety  will  have  passed,  possibly  into  some  other 
groove. 

I  am  delighted  with  your  spectacles,  the  books,  and  the 
chocolates.     What  a  good  woman  of  business  you  are  !  !  ! 

You  don't  mention  having  received  my  Christmas  telegram, 
so  I  shall  have  inquiries  made  here  as  to  why  it  missed  you. 
II 


i62  THE  LETTERS  OF 


Camp  Korti,  27/1/85. 
„.^,°''f  My  Dearest, — I  don't  show  it,  for  I  laugh  and  talk  as 

Wolseley.  ,     ,  *  -,         .     .      i     .  ,        .  , 

usual,  but  my  very  heart  is  being  consumed  with  anxiety 
about  Stewart's  column.  It  is  now  nine  days  since  I  heard 
from  him.  I  have  to-day  had  news  from  Gakdul  up  to  the 
24th  inst.,  all  was  quiet  there;  but  nothing  known  of  Stewart. 
My  heart  feels  actually  cold,  and  it  is  with  difficulty  I  can  keep 
my  mind  fixed  on  any  other  subject.  I  have  spent  most  of  to- 
day on  your  cipher  business,  as  it  diverted  my  thoughts  from 
the  one  subject  that  engrosses  it.  I  think  after  all  the  letter 
cipher  will  be  the  easiest  for  you — I  send  you  two  messages  as 
they  would  appear  to  you  in  a  telegram  for  you  to  practise  on, 
and  you  can  take  your  choice  of  the  two  systems  whichever  you 
find  the  easiest  to  work — I  hope  my  explanation  is  clear.  I  sent 
you  a  Httle  telegram  on  Xmas  Day,  wishing  you  a  happy 
Christmas,  but  as  you  have  not  alluded  to  it,  I  am  afraid  it  has 
never  reached  you.  Be  sure  you  tell  me  if  you  received  it,  the 
date  when  you  got  it,  for  if  it  did  not  reach  you  on  Xmas  Day 
I  shall  decUne  to  pay  for  it.  I  am  writing  this  in  my  tent  after 
dinner  :  it  is  a  real  solace  to  write  to  you  when  I  am  down  in 
my  luck  as  I  am  at  this  moment.  It  is  so  good  of  you  to  say 
you  hke  my  journal  and  my  letters.  Some  time  ago  you  said 
my  journal  struck  you  as  if  it  were  written  for  posterity.  It  is 
really  written  as  a  sort  of  supplement  to  the  ofiicial  diary,  which 
is  kept  of  our  proceedings,  and  I  endeavour  to  jot  down  all 
that  strikes  me  of  the  country  that  would  be  useful  hereafter  if 
cruel  fate  ever  rendered  it  necessary  for  England  to  send  another 
army  into  this  land.  Remember  this  country  differs  from  all 
others  in  this  respect  that,  hke  the  mathematical  definition  of  a 
straight  line,  it  is  length  without  breadth.  Here  we  are  about 
1400  miles  from  the  sea,  and  the  moment  Egypt  proper  is  quitted 
the  average  width  of  the  country  is  not  more  than  about  500 
yards.  In  fact,  it  is  nothing  but  a  very  narrow  strip  of  culti- 
vation along  one  or,  in  some  places,  both  banks  of  the  Nile. 
'*  Beyond  "  is  the  howUng  desert,  parched,  dried  out,  and  baked 
brown  with  heat. 

2Sth  January. — ^Thank  God,  my  suspense  is  at  an  end.  A 
little  after  3  a.m.  this  morning  I  lit  my  candle  and  read  for 
some  time.  Towards  4  a.m.  I  heard  a  camel  grunting  not  far 
off,  andTreaUsed  that  some  one  had  arrived,  and  in  a  few 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  163 

minutes  I  met  Captain  Pigott,  who  was  the  bearer  of  dispatches 
for  me.  In  a  few  minutes  I  learnt  the  news.  Sir  H.  Stewart 
wounded — St.  Leger  Herbert  killed — flosses  not  heavy.  It  is 
a  great  disappointment  to  me  that  we  have  not  occupied 
Matammeh,  which  I  think  we  should  have  done  if  Stewart  had 
not  been  wounded.  Sir  C.  Wilson,  very  useful  for  the  pohtical 
work,  is  no  soldier  :  this  is  his  first  dose  of  fighting,  and  it  has 
evidently  hurt  his  nerves.  How  grateful  I  feel  to  the  Almighty  ! 
I  am  sure  He  wiU  bless  our  further  efforts.  I  have  ordered  off 
Buller  to  take  Stewart's  place.  We  shall  have  some  hard 
fighting  before  Khartoum  is  reHeved,  and  the  Mahdi  driven 
off.  I  must  stay  here  for  the  present,  as  beyond  this  we  have 
no  telegraph,  and  I  must  be  on  the  spot  to  control  both  the 
desert  and  also  the  river  operations.  I  trust  that  Buller  may 
not  be  rendered  hors  de  combat,  for  I  have  not  any  large 
number  of  fighting  leaders  at  my  disposal.  I  have  dwelt  so 
much  in  my  journal  on  this  fight  that  I  shall  now  dismiss  it 
from  my  mind.  Major  Gough  has  been  queer,  poor  fellow,  from 
a  crack  of  a  spent  bullet  on  his  skull.  I  hope  soon  to  get  aU 
the  wounded  in  here.  Lord  AirHe,^  who  was  wounded  twice 
on  the  17th,  was  again  sHghtly  wounded  on  19th  instant.  He 
has  written  a  most  cheery,  jolly  letter  to  Colonel  Swaine, 
winding  up  with,  "  All  we  want  now  is  more  bully  beef,  more 
biscuit,  and  plenty  more  rifles."  He  is  not  on  the  sick  list, 
but  is  doing  his  duty  as  usual.  He  is  a  soldier  whose  heart  is 
in  the  right  place.  I  am  very  sorry  for  poor  Lord  St.  Vincent, 
who  studied  his  profession,  and  would  have  had  a  career  before 
him  had  he  lived  :  he  was  a  nice,  cheery  young  fellow.  Good 
night,  my  own  dearest.  I  hope  you  will  sleep  as  well  to-night 
as  I  am  certain  I  shall. 

^oth  January. — Stewart's  wound  reported  not  to  be  so  bad 
as  at  first  thought.  I  send  you  his  letter  to  me  in  which 
he  refers  to  the  first  impression  it  conveyed  to  the  doctors 
who  examined  him.  I  have  just  been  correcting  my  draft 
dispatch  in  which  I  send  home  the  account  of  the  action  of 
the  19th  instant  and  of  the  operations  immediately  subsequent 
to  it  :  how  I  wish  I  could  lay  them  before  you  for  correction. 
I  can  see  you,  engaged  very  unwiUingly,  at  the  job  with  the 
writing  end  of  a  pencil  in  your  mouth  to  give  additional  force 

*.  Eighth  Earl  of  AirUe,  killed  while^  gallantly  leading  the  12th  Lancers 
at  Diamond  Hill,  June  1900, 


i64  THE  LETTERS  OF 

to  the  changes  you  make  and  the  blotting  out   of  my  too 
numerous  sentences. 

I  have  not  yet  begun  the  Countess  of  Albany,  which  you  so 
kindly  sent  me,  but  I  shall  do  so  by  and  by.  My  mind  and 
thoughts  are  so  engrossed — ^too  much  engrossed — ^with  the  work 
I  have  in  hand  that  I  might  read  pages  of  it  and  not  know 
a  word  of  what  I  was  reading.  I  suppose  you  never  see  the 
Daily  Chronicle  ? 

1st  February. — I  think  I  have  in  my  journal  referred  to 
letters  written  by  Gordon  to  his  friends  bidding  them  a  formal 
adieu.  I  have  kept  back  this  fact  from  the  public  and  do  not 
intend  sending  on  the  letters  for  a  little  while  until  events  are 
more  fully  developed,  so  consider  this  fact  a  secret  for  the 
present.  I  am  in  great  hopes  that  the  arrival  of  Sir  C.  Wilson 
and  even  the  few  red  coats  who  accompanied  him  may  give 
fresh  hope  to  Gordon  and  his  garrison.  Indeed,  I  should  not 
wonder  if  the  Mahdi  raised  the  siege  in  consequence  and  retired 
south  into  the  mountains.  Much  as  I  should  Hke  to  engage 
his  army  in  front  of  Khartoum,  looking  to  the  lateness  of 
the  season  and  to  many  other  circumstances,  I  should 
rejoice  immensely  if  he  did  so.  What  ups  and  downs  there 
are  in  one's  thoughts  and  feelings  and  sentiments :  to-day 
I  feel  as  bumptious  as  ever  I  did  when  I  was  an  ensign,  and 
everything  looks  bright  and  hopeful.  If  I  knew  what  it  was 
to  suffer  from  indigestion  I  should  imagine  these  "  fluctuations  " 
had  their  origin  in  my  stomach,  but  as  I  have  no  "  digestion  ' 
I  feel  they  spring  from  my  brain.  When  it  is  over-wrought 
and  over-worried  the  world  looks  dark  "  and  shadow,  clouds, 
and  darkness  rest  upon  it.'*  Please  don't  think  that  I  am 
habitually  in  low  spirits  or  "  down  in  my  luck."  No  one  at 
my  table  is  jollier  than  I  am,  and  whatever  my  cares  may  be 
I  communicate  them  to  you  alone.  You  encouraged  me  to 
tell  you  all  my  griefs  and  troubles,  so  you  see  I  have  taken  you 
at  your  word,  and  have  given  you  a  real  dose  of  them. 

As  soon  as  I  can  get  away  from  Korti  I  shall  be  much 
happier,  but  I  must  wait  here  for  some  time  yet,  until  I  know 
the  result  of  Earle's  operations  and  movement  upon  Abu 
Ahmed.  Every  one  here  is  in  good  spirits  :  those  only  are 
wretched  who  have  been  told  they  must  stay  here.  Of  course 
every  one  cannot  be  in  the  front,  but  this  reflection  never  seems 
to  satisfy  the  unfortunates  condemned  to  remain  in  the  rear. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  165 

This  fighting  has  a  strange  fascination,  and  it  is  good  that  it 
should  be  so.  If  we  were  all  of  the  kidney  of  Mr.  Bright  (who, 
nevertheless,  loves  to  torture  salmon  on  the  end  of  his  fishing- 
line),  England  would  cease  to  be  an  Empire,  perhaps  even  an 
independent  people.  How  stale  all  I  tell  you  must  be  when  it 
reaches  Hill  Street  !  for  the  telegraph  so  completely  forestalls 
all  I  can  say,  that  I  might  as  well  describe  the  events  in 
Queen  Anne's  reign  as  what  takes  place  here  under  my  very 
nose.  I  enclose  a  separate  note  to  wish  you  happiness  on  your 
birthday,  as  I  did  not  wish  to  embody  this  in  a  woebegone 
epistle. 


4- 


1 885 

[The  news  of  the  fall  of  Khartoum  was  to  hand  'late  on 
the  4th  February,  and  two  days  later,  after  a  four  hours' 
sitting  of  the  Cabinet,  Her  Majesty's  Government  decided 
to  authorise  Wolseley  to  make  preparations  for  an  autumn 
campaign,  in  which  the  Mahdi  was  to  be  destroyed  and 
Gordon  rescued  or  avenged.  At  the  end  of  March  came  the 
so-called  Pendjeh  incident,  and  war  with  Russia  threatened 
sufficiently  to  cause  or  enable  the  Government  again  to  change 
its  mind  and  order  the  recall  of  troops  from  south  of  Wady 
Haifa.  The  incoming  Conservative  party  in  the  summer  did 
not  see  its  way  to  reverse  this  decision,  and  thirteen  years  were 
to  elapse  before  the  release  of  the  Soudan  and  the  avenging  of 
Gordon  should  be  effected  by  Lord  Kitchener.] 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Lord  10.45  P-'^-f   4^^  February. — I  am  in  despair.     News   just 

Wolseley.  -^^  ^j^^^  Khartoum  was  taken  by  treachery  on  26th  January. 
My  steamers  reached  Khartoum  on  28th  instant  just  in 
time  to  see  it  occupied  by  the  enemy  and  have  a  very 
heavy  fire  opened  upon  them  from  Mahdi 's  batteries.  I  have 
telegraphed  home  for  fresh  instructions,  for  now  I  have  no 
"  mission  "  left  to  carry  out,  and  to  begin  a  campaign  at  this 
season  of  the  year  with  British  troops  in  the  Soudan  would, 
in  my  private  opinion,  be  simply  madness.  I  have  proposed 
to  concentrate  my  little  army  at  Debbeh  and  Abu  Gus,  and 
there  at  least  for  some  little  time  to  await  events.  Poor 
Gordon  !  for  his  sake  I  sincerely  hope  he  is  dead.  Death  was 
always  looked  forward  to  by  him  as  the  beginning  of  Hfe — 
one  of  my  family  mottoes,  "  Mors  Mihi  Vita  Est  !  "     I  should 

/think  this  blow  will  kill  poor  old  Gladstone.     He  alone_is  to 
blame.     Had  he  been  a  statesman,  this  misfortune  could  never 

have  fallen  upon  us  :    but  he  neither  could  nor  would  realise 

the  necessity  for  making  preparations  for  the  relief  of  Khartoum  : 

166 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY    167 

indeed,  he  would  not  even  admit  it  was  besieged.  The  Govern- 
ment, already  very  shaky,  will  most  probably  be  kicked  out 
by  a  vote  of  want  of  confidence.  If — always  an  if — Stewart  . 
had  not  been  wounded,  the  steamers  with  Wilson  would  have  ^^~\ 
started  for  Khartoum  on  the  22nd  instead  of  the  24th  January, 
and  might  possibly  have  reached  that  place  before  the  treacherous 
surrender.  The  moral  effect  of  steamers  with  English  soldiers 
on  board  arriving  would  probably  have  saved  the  city.  I 
beheve  the  Mahdi  was  at  his  last  gasp.  It  was  neck  or  nothing 
with  him.  He  has  won,  and  we  all  look  very  fooUsh.  Indeed, 
if  it  were  not  that  I  have  to  think  over  the  fate  and  position 
of  the  gallant  Gordon,  I  should  be  lost  in  pity  for  myself  and 
this  Uttle  army  generally.  To  have  struggled  up  here  against 
immense  difi&culty  and  at  the  cost  of  great  labour  and  the 
expenditure  of  vast  energy  and  thought,  and  then,  when  the 
goal  was  within  sight  to  have  the  prize  snatched  from  one,  is 
indeed  hard  to  bear. 

Thursday,  ^th  February. — I  don't  expect  to  receive  orders 
from  Government  until  about  midnight,  but  every  hour  is  now 
precious. 

Friday,  6th  February. — ^The  Cabinet  is  to  sit  to-day.  Of 
course  every  one  was  in  the  country. 

Sunday,  8th  February. — ^To  my  extreme  astonishment  the 
Cabinet  have  determined  to  fight  it  out  with  the  Mahdi,  and 
as  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  do  so  before  next  cold  weather 
begins,  we  shall  have  to  stay  here  and  wait  until  reinforce- 
ments reach  us  in  the  autumn.  So  I  shall  not  see  you 
until  perhaps  this  time  next  year.  I  am  glad  for  England's 
sake,  for  Egypt's  sake,  indeed,  for  the  sake  of  suffering 
humanity,  that  our  weak-kneed  Cabinet  have  at  last  deter- 
mined upon  an  energetic  policy  "for  the  Soudan.  What 
a  parody  upon  sovereignty  and  upon  the  ruling  of  a  nation 
is  to  be  seen  in  all  Mr.  Gladstone  has  done  as  regards  foreign'^''^ 
poUcy,  but  especiaUy  as  regards  the  course  we  have  pursued 
in  Egypt  and  its  dependencies.  I  have  just  telegraphed  to 
Brett  ^  to  tell  you  that  I  should  not  be  home  this  year,  so  that 
you  may  make  your  plans  accordingly.  How  I  wish  I  were 
with  you,  never  to  leave  you  again.  But  now  this  Mahdi  must 
be  disposed  of  before  I  can  hear  your  voice  and  amusing  talk 

*Mr.  Reginald  Brett,  private  secretary  to  Lord  Hartington,  after- 
wards second  Viscount  Esher. 


i68  THE  LETTERS3OF 

upon  passing  events.  I  think  I  shall  give  up  roaming  alter 
the  Soudan  business  has  been  settled,  and  take  my  ease  for 
the  few  remaining  years  I  have  to  live.  But  how  fooHsh  to 
attempt  any  forecast  of  my  Hfe  !  Possibly  God  has  other 
employment  for  me  than  home  duties  and  home  pleasures. 
When  at  my  present  work  how  small,  how  unmanly  seem  the 
pleasures  I  enjoyed  in  picture  galleries,  curiosity  shops,  and  at 
Christie's.  It  seems  almost  impossible  that  I  should  ever  have 
cared  to  collect  Staffordshire  figures  or  grote^ue  monsters  in 
oriental  china.  Even  the  repose  and  luxury  of  a  room  decorated 
and  furnished  after  Bodley's  most  approved  taste,  appears  now 
to  my  imagination  so  insignificant  that  I  would  not  walk  a 
hundred  yards  to  look  at  one.  In  a  flannel  shirt,  living  in 
a  tent,  with  the  stem  reaUties  of  Ufe  to  encounter  and  to  provide 
against  for  others  for  whom  I  am  responsible,  all  the  amuse- 
ments of  the  frivolous  world  of  society  seem  contemptible. 

Monday,  gth  February. — The  English  post  arrived  this 
morning,  but  without  my  bag,  of  which  no  one  knows  anything, 
so  I  have  no  letter  from  you  to  cheer  me  up,  and  I  want  some 
cheering  up  just  at  this  moment.  I  must  now  end  this,  as 
the  post-bag  must  be  closed  and  fastened  on  its  camel  appointed 
to  carry  it  the  400  miles  which  intervene  between  this  and 
Wady  Haifa. 

Camp  Korti,  The  Soudan, 

14th  February  1885. 

Lord  My    Dearest, — ^The    missing    post-bag   arrived   yesterday 

0  se  ey.  afternoon  with  your  letter  of  the  i6th  January.  It  found  me 
down  in  my  luck — ^inwardly,  not  outwardly — as  I  don't  like 
the  present  position  of  things.  My  mind  keeps  thinking  of 
how  near  a  brilliant  success  I  was,  and  how  narrowly  I  missed 
achieving  it.  But  God's  will  be  done.  I  have  made  myself 
sad  over  Gordon's  journal,  which  I  had  to  read  for  the  informa- 
tion it  gives.  Gallant  Earle's  death  has  been  a  sad  blow  to 
us  all.  I  enclose  Bruck's  letter  on  the  subject,  which  will  give 
you  all  particulars.  I  have  extracted  that  portion  of  it  referring 
to  how  Earle  was  shot,  and  sent  it  to  Lady  Codrington  to  be 
communicated  to  Mrs.  Earle.  I  also  sent  the  news  by  telegraph 
to  Eaton  Square,  and  followed  it  up  with  a  message  to  poor 
Mrs.  Earle.  Holding  my  views  of  life  and  death  I  never  pity 
the  man  who  dies  as  Earle  did ;  all  my  sorrow  is  for  those  he 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  169 

leaves  behind  him,  to  whom  without  doubt  he  was  very  dear. 
I  don't  think  I  shall  be  able  to  take  part  in  the  capture  of 
Berber,  as  the  Government  does  not  relish  the  notion  of  my 
going  away  for  weeks  from  the  end  of  the  wire,  and  looking 
to  our  position  at  present  I  think  the  Government  is  right  :  I 
must  not  allow  any  personal  feeling  to  influence  me  on  such  a 
point,  but  I  am  very  sorry  for  those  about  me,  who  will  not 
consequently  see  any  fighting  until  the  autumn  campaign  begins 
and  we  advance  against  the  Mahdi  at  Khartoum.  I  have  been 
very  much  amused  by  your  story  of  John  Rose's  proposal  to 
Barbara  Lyall.     Is  her  future  mate  rich  ? 

I  am  so  much  jolHer  since  I  began  this  to  you — ^next  to 
seeing  you  and  having  a  chat  with  you,  writing  to,  or,  better 
still,  receiving  a  letter  from  you  does  my  heart  most  good. 
Only  fancy  old  Bob  Lowe^  going  to  marry  again.  Who  on 
earth  is  the  bride  ?  I  suppose  a  bread-and-butter,  seventeen- 
year-older  ?  I  have,  alas,  very  Uttle  hope  of  ever  seeing  poor 
Stewart  alive  again  :  my  last  news  of  him  was  on  the  5th  instant, 
when  he  had  taken  a  bad  turn.  He  is  not,  they  tell  me,  a  good 
patient  ;  is  fretful  and  inclined  to  be  irritable,  and  yet  when 
well  he  is  a  most  even-tempered  fellow.  The  little  King  dined 
with  me  last  night  in  the  highest  spirits  at  the  prospect  of  getting 
off  into  the  desert  to-day  with  dispatches  from  me  for  Sir 
Red  vers  Buller  :  the  King's  regiment,  7th  Hussars,  is  now  near 
Gobat,  under  Colonel  Stanley  Clarke,  but  have  not,  as  yet,  had 
a  brush  with  the  enemy.  To-hiorrow  I  expect  Buller  will  attack 
Matammeh,  but  I  shall  not  know  the  result  until  Thursday, 
the  19th  instant.  It  is  this  separation  from  the  scene  of  action 
that  causes  me  such  uneasiness  and  anxiety,  joined  to  the  fact 
of  having  my  force  divided  into  two  columns  between  which 
there  is  no  direct  communication. 

Sunday,  15th  February. — I  am  sending  off  Evelyn  Wood 
to-morrow  to  Matammeh  to  take  Buller's  place  in  the  event 
of  his  having  been  wounded  in  the  attack  on  that  place,  and 
also  to  confer  with  him  if  he  be  all  right  and  arrange  for  the 
capture  of  Berber.  I  think  that  place  ought  to  be  taken  by 
the  combined  columns  of  Buller  and  Brackenbury  about  the 
i6th  March.  If  I  can  only  tide  over  that  month  of  March 
without  any  attack  upon  my  line  of  communications  between 
this  and  Egypt  I  shall  go  to  bed  for  several  days  and  sleep 
*  Right  Hon.  Robert  Lowe,  created  Viscount  Sherbrooke,  1 880. 


170  THE  LETTERS  OF 

in  order  to  become  young  again.  I  have  been  so  extremely 
unfortunate  all  through  this  business  that  I  pray  God  may 
now  give  me  a  little  sunshine  to  brighten  me  up.  I  want  it, 
for  I  have  been  running  risks  that  I  don't  like,  and  sometimes 
think  I  ought  not  to  take.  I  hope  to  get  a  letter  from  you 
this  evening,  and  that  will  cheer  me  up.  I  was  not  able  to 
ride  this  morning  as  we  had  church  parade,  but  I  shall  go  out 
and  have  a  gallop  at  5  p.m.  Nothing  sets  one  up  so  well  as  a 
scamper  over  the  desert.  Last  night  I  was  up  for  a  long  time 
writing  and  went  to  bed  again  at  daybreak.  How  I  hate  the 
sight  of  my  tent  here ;  I  have  never  before  in  any  campaign 
had  to  stay  in  the  rear,  and  I  find  it  extremely  trying  to  the 
nervous  system,  if  I  have  one,  which  I  sometimes  doubt.  I 
have  been  packed  up  ready  to  start  for  the  last  fortnight,  but 
now  have  abandoned  all  hope  of  getting  away,  although  I  don't 
dare  to  tell  that  to  those  round  me. 

Monday,  16th  February. — Wood  has  just  left,  very  glad  to 
get  away  from  this  desert,  and  from  all  the  worries  of  this  place. 
Yesterday  evening  upon  my  return  from  riding  I  found  your 
note  of  23rd  January,  written  just  after  you  had  received  the 
news  about  Abu  Klea.  By  the  time  you  receive  this,  please 
God,  most  of  my  anxieties  will  be  at  an  end.  I  am  so  anxious 
to  take  Berber  that  I  am  straining  every  nerve  to  do  so  and, 
I  must  add,  running  risks  that  are  serious  tests  to  the  nerves. 
Good-bye  for  the  present. 

P.S.,  16/2/85. — I  am  sending  with  this  a  parcel  containing 
two  standards  from  poor  Earle's  fight  at  Kirbekan.  Each  has 
the  translation  of  what  is  written  there  attached  to  it.  I  can 
see  you  displaying  these  trophies  at  five  o'clock  tea  to  the 
bores  who  haunt  you  at  that  hour.  If  I  could  only  finish  this 
business  without  waiting  for  an  autumn  campaign,  what  a 
piece  of  good  fortune  for  me,  for  the  Government,  and  for 
England. 

Camp  Korti, 
Sunday,  22nd  February  1885. 

Lord  I  shall  not  dwell  upon  dear  Stewart's  death  ;  when  I  heard 

Woiseiey.  ^£  j^^  wound  I  made  up  my  mind  I  should  never  see  him  again. 

The  army  can  ill  spare  him.     Both  he  and  St.  Leger  Herbert 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  171 

were  unbelievers  in  revealed  religion,  which  to  me  is  always 
terrible  to  contemplate.  So  was  dear  Colley.  However,  if 
they  could  not  conscientiously  believe,  I  cannot  believe  that 
our  Maker,  who  is  certainly  the  incarnation  of  mercy,  can 
punish  them  in  the  way  clergymen  and  priests  would  have  us 
believe.  I  am  sure  that  faith  in  God  can  only  be  secured  by 
constantly  praying  for  it,  and  that  when  you  have  obtained 
it,  you  are  the  happiest  of  mortals.  However,  we  will  talk  all 
this  over  when  we  meet.  I  shall  be  curious  to  hear  what  you 
tell  me  of  how  Greaves  took  his  appointment  to  Suakin.  I 
wonder  if  he  and  M'Neill  knew  that  it  was  I  who  caused  them 
to  be  sent  to  that  enjoyable  place.  We  shall  all  be  anxious 
to  hear  the  result  of  the  vote  of  censure  to  be  moved  to- 
morrow. If  ever  a  Government  deserved  to  be  kicked  out^-^ 
by  an  indignant  people  the  Government  of  Mr.  Gladstone 
deserves  that  punishment  ;  but  if  I  were  a  party  man, 
and  a  Conservative,"  I  would  certainly  not  advise  that  party 
to  accegt^.Ctfi&ce.  Let  Gladstone  get  the  country  out  of  the 
scrapes  his  incapacity  has  brought  upon  it.  Church  parade/ 
over — I  cannot  say  that  I  am  edified  or  feel  any  the  better 
for  it ;  but  when  in  camp  I  have  always  made  it  a  point  to 
attend  Sunday  parade.  How  curiously  ineffective  are  some  of  our 
Protestant  chaplains.  The  Uttle  man  who  has  just  read  prayers 
to  us  served  in  the  ranks  of  the  Zouaves  in  Algeria  and  also 
in  the  Franco-German  War,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner.  He 
preached  us  a  sermon  which  he  preached  to  us  a  very  short  time 
ago.  He  evidently  wants  imagination,  especially  as  the  discourse 
had  no  intrinsic  worth.  I  have  not  yet  settled  where  I  shall 
have  my  Headquarters  for  the  summer,  but  I  think  I  shall  decide 
on  Dongola.  I  enjoy  your  letters  teUing  me  of  all  London's  doings 
and  sayings,  but  I  cannot  boil  up  enough  interest  in  the  noble 
lords  and  their  noble  ladies  to  study  their  doings  in  the 
newspapers.    You  must  tell  me  whether  society  is  down  upon\ 

me  for  being  too  late  to  save  Gordon.     I  presume  the  Govern-  ^ 

ment  people — ^worshippers  of  Mr.  Gladstone — ^and  the  poUticians 
will  endeavour  to  throw  the  blame  of  having  failed  to  save 
^J^rdon  on  me.  The  Ministers  will  not  dare  to  say  so  openly, 
for  I  could  at  any  moment  publish  the  proposals  I  made  to 
them  on  8th  April  last,  begging  of  them  then  to  consider 
seriously  Gordon's  danger,  and  the  necessity  of  preparing  a 
force  for  the  relief  of  Khartoum.     No  one  can  be  his  own  judge, 


172  THE  LETTERS  OF 

and  it  may  be  owing  to  ignorance  of  my  trade  that  I  assert  I  did 
all  that  was  possible  to  get  forward  to  Khartoum  from  the  date 
\of  my  arrival  in  Egypt.  I  dislike  sajdng  this,  for  I  remember 
hearing  that  Sir  A.  Horsford  always  felt  inclined  to  support 
Lord  Chelmsford  until  Lord  C.  told  him  that  if  all  his  Zulu 
business  had  to  be  repeated  he  would  do  exactly  as  he  had  already 
done.  Horsford  said,  "  How,  under  these  circumstances,  can  I 
go  on  defending  him  }  "  He  and  others  would  possibly  say  the 
same  of  me  ;  but  I  can  at  least  say  this  to  you,  and  I  know  that 
all  my  staff  and  superior  officers  would  endorse  it,  whilst  those 
round  Chelmsford  in  1879  would  certainly  not  have  agreed  with 
him  in  the  views  he  expressed  to  Sir  A.  Horsford  as  I  have 
related  above.  I  am  sending  a  bank-note  for  £1 — ^issued  by 
poor  Gordon  in  Khartoum.  Up  to  this  they  are  very  scarce, 
so  you  can  show  it  as  a  curiosity.  I  enclose  you  also  a 
pewter  decoration  which  he  bestowed  on  the  soldiers  who  dis- 
tinguished themselves.  He  had  a  few  stamped  in  gold  which  he 
gave  to  his  best  Generals.  Do  you  remember  Captain  Grenf ell  ^ 
in  Canada  ?  He  used  to  act,  and  had  a  trick  of  shaking  hands 
with  himself  on  the  stage.  Well,  he  is  now  here  as  a  Brigadier- 
General  in  command  of  the  L.J.C. — ^and  very  good  he  is. 
I  shall  have  some  bother,  I  fear,  with  Wood,  because  I 
now  want  Buller  to  come  back  to  me  as  Chief  of  the 
Staff  —  a  position  which  Wood  took  up  when  Buller  went 
forward  to  replace  poor  Stewart.  I  have  just  written  to 
Lady  Stewart,  a  melancholy  duty.  She  is  young  to  have  been 
twice  left  a  widow. 

My  mind  is  kept  on  the  stretch  by  having  Buller's  column 
in  a  difficult  position  in  the  desert  and  Brackenbury  far 
up  the  river,  without  being  able  to  communicate  quickly 
with  either.  I  prowl  up  and  down  my  tent,  about  eleven  or 
twelve  feet  square — ^like  a  panther.  I  rush  to  my  table  and 
scribble  a  few  lines  ;  then  I  lie  down  and  snooze  for  some 
minutes  until  some  active  but  mind-at-ease  fly  tickles  my  nose. 
I  look  out  of  my  tent  and  see  a  willy-wagtail  hop  about  who 
seems  to  say,  *'See  how  happy  I  am  although  I  am  only  a 
little  bird,  whilst  you,  a  man  full  of  stuck-up  pride,  a  soi- 
disant  General,  are  dejected  !  For  shame  !  take  a  lesson  from 
me.'*  To-day,  to  escape  from  disagreeable  thoughts,  I  took 
up  your  book  about  the  unfortunate  wife  of  the  young  Pre- 
1  Afterwards  Field-Marshal  Lord  Grenfell. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  173 

tender  and  read  seventy  pages  of  it  with  great  interest.  The 
style  is  affected,  but  just  suited  to  my  present  mood,  as  it 
caught  hold  of  my  attention.  I  have  received  just  now  the 
pleasant  news  that  the  Kablabish  tribe  have  sent  off  a  number 
of  laden  camels  to-day,  and  the  other  tribes  ditto,  ditto.  A 
great  relief  to  my  mind,  for  during  the  last  few  days  I  thought 
they  had  been  hanging  back  owing  to  my  withdrawal  of  troops 
from  Goubat.  I  am  dependent  very  much  upon  these  tribes, 
for  my  own  camels,  reduced  to  skin  and  bone,  are  so  weak  they 
can  barely  carry  themselves,  much  less  a  load. 

Charlie  Beresford  has  done  first-rate  service.  I  hope 
Hartington  will  publish  the  dispatch  in  which  I  praised  him 
very  highly.  If  he  does,  be  sure  and  tell  me  what  you  think  of 
it.  In  fact,  tell  me  how  you  find  my  telegrams  on  the  subject 
of  the  actions  and  skirmishes  that  have  taken  place  here. 

BuUer  wrote  me  rather  a  complaining  letter  from  Abu 
Klea  that  my  instructions  in  cipher  had  nearly  driven  him 
mad,  as  he  had  no  house,  no  tent,  nor  any  shelter  to  read  or 
decipher  in,  and  that  he  existed  by  day  in  a  dust-storm, 
whilst  the  enemy  fired  all  night  long  into  his  position.  In 
reply  I  said,  from  my  heart  I  envied  him  the  luxury  of  being 
fired  at  all  night,  and  that  I  felt  even  the  distant  smell  of 
gunpowder  would  have  been  a  perfume  to  my  nostrils.  How- 
ever, when  I  advance  in  the  autumn  on  Khartoum  it  will  be 
in  one  compact  column,  and  I  shall  be,  please  God,  at  its  head. 
This  war  will  cost  the  country  millions,  all  of  which  might 
have  been  saved  if  we  had  had  a  real  statesman  at  the  head 
of  affairs  this  time  last  year. 

10  p.m.,  22nd  February. — ^The  English  post  in  and  I  have 
been  reading  my  letters.  They  all  drive  me  wild  with  con- 
gratulations, which  are  like  the  fruit  on  the  shores  of  the 
Dead  Sea  :  all  powder  and  dust  within.  In  your  letter  alone 
is  there  the  sensible  remark  that  perhaps  after  all  some  un- 
foreseen accident  would  mar  all  my  calculations.  God's  will  be 
done  ;  I  should  be  stuck  up  and  proud  if  all  my  ventures 
turned  out  perfectly.  I  never  liked  this  desert  venture,  and 
only  embarked  on  it  because  I  thought  I  might  save  Gordon, 
a  hero  for  whom  I  had  the  deepest  reverence.  I  never  knew 
any  one  like  him.  General  Robert  Lee  was  the  only  other  hero 
I  have  ever  personally  known.  I  hate  to  see  Sir  C.  Wilson, 
because  I  cannot  help  remembering  that  he  might  have  been 


174  THE  LETTERS  OF 

at  Khartoum  easily  the  day  before  it  was  betrayed,  and  all 
might  then  have  been  well.  I  enclose  a  note  just  received  from 
the  Queen. 

In  another  ten  days  nearly  all  my  pressing  anxieties  will 
be  at  an  end,  and  "  Garnet  will  be  himself  again.** 

Camp  Korti,  26/2/85. 
Lord  About  the  pipes — I  have  only  as  yet  received  the  specimen. 

e  ey.  j^  .^  ^^^^  what  I  wanted,  and  you  have  acted  with  your  usual 
promptitude  and  businesslike  decision. 

I  have  known  Gleichen  ever  since  the  Crimea  dajTs.  He 
has  a  story  of  finding  me  covered  with  blood  amongst  a 
number  of  dead  soldiers  and  thinking  I  was  dead,  too.  I  had 
fallen  down  from  sheer  exhaustion  and  gone  to  sleep. 

I  can't  believe  any  man  would  marry  Helen,  so,  until  I  hear 
she  is  wedded  and  bedded  I  shall  continue  to  think  of  her  as 
la  belle  Helene.  I  have  to-day  opened  your  envelopes  with  the 
cuttings  in  them.  I  have  not  had  time  to  read  them  before, 
and  besides,  I  dreaded  to  read  praises  of  my  arrangements  and 
plans,  well  knowing  how  all  my  enemies  are,  by  this  time, 
shaking  their  heads  in  glee  at  the  failure  of  all  my  schemes, 
and  one  old  General  saying  to  the  other,  "  I  told  you  so,"  with 
the  rejoinder,  "  Serve  him  right."  I  know  you  at  least  will 
beheve  me  when  I  say  how  supremely  indifferent  I  should  be 
^^  were  the  point  at  issue  merely  my  failure.  But  England  is  now 
embarking  upon  an  enterprise  that  is  beyond  her  normal 
military  strength.  The  English  people  howl  for  the  conquest 
of  the  Soudan,  but  if  you  told  them  that  it  means  increasing 
the  Army  by  21,000  men,  they  tear  their  hair  and  say  all  the 
^^  mihtary  authorities  must  be  fools  and  knaves  not  to  have  an 
""  ~Army  fit  to  bear  the  strain.  As  a  General,  to  whom  this  job 
is  committed,  I  ought  to  rejoice.  But  ambitious,  as  I  confess 
I  am,  I  don't  want  to  have  my  ambition  gratified  [and  satisfied 
at  the  expense  of  English  interests. 

Amongst  your  cuttings  I  have  been  very  much  interested 
in  those  referring  to  George  Eliot's  life,  pubHshed  by  her 
husband.  Although  I  haven't  read  all  her  books,  I  was  a  great 
admirer  of  hers,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  her  life.  She 
certainly  was  the  most  remarkable  woman  of  our  day. 

27/2/85. — I  send  you  Gordon's  last  letter  to  me  :  it  is 
piteous  reading.     I  am  sending  it  home  now  officially,  so  it  is 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  175 

no  longer  any  secret ;  but  don't  show  it  to  any  one  who  would 
refer  to  it  in  the  newspapers. 

I  have  just  had  a  telegram  from  the  Queen,  which  she  ends 
by  sa57ing  you  had  been  at  Windsor  since  the  25th — her  tele- 
gram being  dated  27th  instant.  Since  the  fighting  began  she 
has  been  very  kind  and  gracious  to  me.  Great  as  she  is  in  so 
many  ways,  she  cannot  reaUse  that  the  art  of  war  is  very  difiicult, 
and  that  I  am  perhaps  more  Ukely  to  understand  it  than  the 
Duke  of  Cambridge. 

2nd  March. — I  am  amused  by  the  real  funk  which  seems 
to  have  entered  the  marrow  of  "  London  heroes."  Please 
laugh  when  people  groan  over  our  approaching  destruction,  and 
say  your  husband  and  those  with  him  will  take  some  destroy- 
ing before  they  disappear,  and  that  you  know  I  hope  the 
Mahdi  may  pluck  up  enough  courage  to  attack  us.  It  is  he 
that  requires  the  sympathy  of  the  croakers,  not  us.  I  have 
just  written  to  the  D.  of  Cambridge  in  this  strain,  for  I  am  sick 
of  **  dreads  "  and  "fears"  and  doleful  anticipations.  What- 
ever may  be  in  my  heart,  I  don't  want  pity  from  any  one, 
and  I  don't  require  sympathy  from  any  invertebrate  creature. 
Nothing  could  be  so  good  as  that  the  Mahdi  should  now  come 
on  here  and  attack  us.  Although  I  am  quite  strong  enough 
to  fight  him  on  my  own  ground,  I  am  not  strong  enough  to 
lay  siege  to  Khartoum,  for  which  operation  this  little  army 
was  not  organised. 

Melancholy,  depressing  letters  make  me  so  bumptious  that 
I  long  to  go  out  and  engage  the  Mahdi  single-handed.  Please 
God,  when  I  sink  I  shall  go  down  with  my  colours  flying  and 
the  band  playing  "  God  save  the  Queen,"  and  the  cheers  of 
victory  ringing  in  my  ears. 

Everything  is  fair  in  war.  I  am  now  going  in  for  forgery. 
I  am  having  the  seals  of  the  Mahdi  and  of  his  principal  men 
copied,  so  I  can  when  I  obtain  these  seals  issue  proclamations 
in  their  names  over  their  own  seals.  No  one  ever  signs  his 
name  in  this  country,  but  every  man  has  a  seal.  Do  you  think 
this  villainous  ? 

Camp  Korti,  4th  March  1885. 
I  am  perspiring  from  every  pore  as   I  write,  for  what  is      Lord 
known  as  the  khamsin  wind  is  now  blowing  as  if  it  came  from      °  ^^  ^'^' 
the  mouth  of  a  furnace.     Fricke  looks  very  gloomy  over  the 


176    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

prospect  of  a  summer  in  the  Soudan,  and  I  live  in  dread  of  his 
telling  me  some  morning  that  he  must  go  home.  I  declare  if  I 
were  him  I  would  certainly  go  home,  for  it  is  only  a  sense  of  duty 
that  would  keep  any  one  here,  and  except  whatever  duty  he 
may  imagine  he  owes  me,  he  is  not  actuated  by  that  pride  and 
soldier-like  feeling  which  is  felt  by  the  officer  class.  Yesterday 
I  had  a  good  two  hours  at  The  Countess  of  Albany  and  was 
much  interested.  You  know  how  little  I  care  for  reading  the 
lives  of  poets  or  of  any  but  men  of  action.  So  Alfieri  would 
have  been  a  foreign  bore  of  the  worst  type  ;  vain,  egotistical, 
and  overbearing,  I  now  learn  from  Vernon  Lee.  The  red- 
headed lover  of  the  young  Pretender's  wife  was  not  a  poet,  but 
he  was  *'  hysterical."  I  can  understand  an  hysterical  woman  : 
hysteria  is  a  curse  from  which  a  large  proportion  of  your  sex 
suffer  and  to  which  every  woman  is  Hable,  but  that  a  male 
creature  should  be  hysterical  is  loathsome  to  contemplate. 
Poor  woman,  with  a  drunken  husband  who  used  to  be  sick 
over  her,  and  an  hysterical  creature  like  Alfieri  for  a  lover. 
I  cannot  scrape  together  the  least  possible  atom  of  interest 
in  the  lover,  but  I  am  very  much  taken  by  the  story  of 
this  poor  Httle  German  whom  nature,  or  rather  fortune, 
dealt  with  so  hardly.  Send  me  a  small  book  now  and  then 
to  read,  good  print,  if  you  please.  If  I  could  get  the  Old 
Testament  in  several  volumes  printed  large  I  should  like  it. 
I  have  not  read  it  since  I  was  a  boy.  I  think  you  can  obtain 
it  in  a  shop  on  the  right-hand  side  of  Northumberland  Avenue, 
which  is,  I  fancy,  the  emporium  for  the  Society  for  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel.  I  want  to  read  over  again  the  history  of  David, 
who  to  me  as  a  boy  was  the  Alfred  of  the  Jews.  He  was  so 
brave,  so  human,  such  a  sinner,  and  yet  with  such  a  trust  in 
his  God. 


1 885 


CHAPTER  XIV 

2nd  January  1885. 

On  the  30th  December  I  got  your  letter  of  loth,  telling  me     Lady 
of  your  horse  faUing  with  you.     What  escapes  you  have  with  ^^^^^'^v- 
horses  and  camels !    and  Colonel  B.  still  insubordinate   and 
nagging  at   you !    But   I  feel  that  nothing  will  have  been  so 
great   a   comfort  to   you   as    making   your   final   move  from 
Dongola.     You  feel  now  really  en  route  for  Khartoum. 

Now  for  your  commissions.  The  chocolate  I  thought  a 
most  innocent  request — I  send  you  a  box  of  best  tablets.  I 
thought  two  would  be  a  nice  little  nibble  for  you.  There  are 
fifteen,  I  think,  in  the  box ;  that  would  last  you  a  week ;  and 
next  week  you  shall  have  another  box.  Then  here  are  two 
pairs  goggles.  Then  I  felt  afraid  to  embark  on  the  "  Com- 
mercial book."  I  thought  I  should  never  understand  it,  so  I 
send  you  another  Dictionary  containing  small  words.  It  has, 
alas !  two  columns,  but  I  think  that  difficulty  might  be  over- 
come by  your  ingenuity.  I  am  afraid  to  propose  how  lest  I 
should  confuse  matters,  but  I  will  adopt  any  plan  you  advise. 
Then  I  send  you  The  Countess  of  Albany  to  read.  It  is  a  thin, 
small  book  and  light  reading,  and  I  think  it  may  wile  away  a 
few  hours.  Finally,  you  said  you  would  never  go  on  another 
campaign  without  a  carriage  clock,  so  I  send  you  one.  You 
may  just  as  well  have  it  now.  It  repeats  by  pressing  the  button 
at  top.  It  is  a  very  good  and  very  strong  one,  not  Ukely  to  get 
out  of  order.  I  hope  Mr.  Hopkins  will  find  room  for  it  in  the  bag 
to-day. 

Your  little  nephew.  Garnet,  is  here  from  Wednesday  till 
Saturday.  I  thought  I  ought  to  ask  him,  and  he  is  a  nice, 
manly  httle  chap.  I  have  given  him  a  present  of  a  riding 
lesson  each  day.  I  thought  it  the  kindest  thing  I  could  do 
for  him,  for  a  boy  ought  to  ride. 
12 


17^  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  dined  with  "  Theresa  "  ^  last  Sunday,  and  met  Sir  Henry 
Drammond  Wolff,  "  CharUe  "  Eraser, 2  and  an  unknown  (to  me) 
Lord  Langford.  I  never  knew  before  that  "  Charlie  "  wears 
one  heel  inches  high  to  conceal  a  lame  leg,  I  suppose.  The 
dinner  was  good  and  the  conversation  not  intellectual  and 
sHghtly  indecent.  On  Sunday  afternoon  Mrs.  Lang  and  I  went 
to  hear  Dr.  Liddon  preach  at  St.  Paul's.  Ashmead  Bartlett 
gave  me  very  good  seats.  His  mother  and  wife  were  there, 
the  former  a  kind  of  aged  quakeress.  Drummond  Wolff  told 
me  that  A.  B.  is  a  decided  "  dawg,"  but  if  so  he  mitigates 
with  airs  of  great  piety.  The  service  and  singing  were  excellent 
and  so  was  the  sermon.  Under  that  great  dome  I  said  a  prayer 
for  you  and  your  success,  and  trusted  it  reached  some  way 
towards  heaven.  Don't  regret  your  serious  letter  to  me.  I  liked 
it  the  best  of  any  I  have  had. 

Dalton  Hill,  Albury, 
d>th  January  1885. 
La^y  My  Dearest, — ^The  Stewart  move  to  Gakdul,  so  successfully 

°^^^^'  conducted,  has  caused  great  enthusiasm  here.  Every  one  is 
full  of  the  marvellous  manner  in  which  difficulties  melt  away 
as  you  approach.  To  my  superficial  mind  it  appears  as  if  the 
general  pubUc  are  not  keenly  interested  in  Egypt,  but  your  own 
friends  are  more  than  usually  interested  in  your  share  of  this 
campaign.  As  I  have  Uved  through  several  campaigns  I  may  be 
allowed  to  be  a  judge  in  this.  I  am  glad  to  say  they  all  seem 
fully  impressed  with  the  difficulties  you  have  to  encounter.  I  have 
described  your  camel  fall  to  some  hundreds  of  people  !  Don't 
be  angry  at  this.  If  you  had  broken  your  bones  I  would  have 
kept  it  quiet,  but  I  think  it  excellent  that  they  should  know 
that  you  share  the  ups  and  downs  and  bumps  and  bruises  of  the 
commonest  (I  beg  pardon,  the  privatest)  soldier  of  your  army. 
I  don't  want  you  to  have  more  kicks  than  halfpence.  I  want  you 
to  have  more  halfpence  than  kicks — ^from  the  camel  (the  news- 
paper kicks  don't  count,  for  we  don't  care  about  them,  do  we  ?). 
Last  Friday  I  met  Gladstone  at  dinner  at  the  Reays'.  He 
looked  very  ill.  Sleeplessness  returned.  He  had  been  to 
consult  Andrew  Clarke,  who  advised  different  remedies,  amongst 
others,  chaffingly,  a  new  work  on  Education,  as  an  infallible 

^  Dowager  Countess  of  Shrewsbury. 
*  General  Charles  Fraser. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  179 

soporific.  This  Mr.  G.  told  Lady  R.,  unconscious  that  Lord  R. 
was  one  of  the  principal  contributors.  Mr.  G.'s  tattle  was 
chiefly  of  the  Jews  and  the  redistribution.  He  said  a  few  civil 
words  to  me  about  you,  what  unbounded  confidence  every  one 
felt  in  you,  etc.,  and  asked  if  you  were  in  good  spirits  ;  and  I 
administered  a  little  stab  by  telHng  him  that  the  only  difficulty 
you  dwelt  upon  was  the  matter  of  time.  It  was  a  pouring  night, 
but  he  insisted  on  walking  home. 

Lady  Reay  was  very  light  and  airy  with  him,  and  Lord  R. 
anxiously  watched  her.  I  think  he  is  very  much  afraid  of  her 
making  hevues.  To-day  F.  R.  got  in  at  tea-time.  (I  begged 
Frederick  afterwards  to  remember  that  gentleman,  and  never 
let  him  in  again.)  He  is — to  console  himself  for  not  being  in 
Egypt  ! — ^writing  a  Life  of  Peterborough  !  He  knew  you  were 
meditating  Marlborough. 

Shall  you  recollect  that  on  the  27th  I  shall  be  forty-two  ?  I 
wish  you  could  enter  Khartoum  that  day,  as  you  did  Cairo  on 
F.'s  birthday. 

i^th  January. — I  propose  to  start  as  soon  as  you  get  to 
Khartoum  ;  till  then  I  don't  want  to  leave  this  end  of  the  tele- 
graph, though  you  will  have  left  the  other  end.  I  quite  agree 
about  not  taking  a  house  at  Cairo  ;  Shepheard's  will  be  the  place 
for  me.     A  fortnight  there  will  satisfy  me. 

Your  old  servant  G.  Andrews  is  dead,  and  his  widow  is 
very  badly  off.  I  sent  her  some  money  through  Hopkins,  but 
begged  him  not  to  tell  her  who  sent  it,  as  I  did  not  know  if 
you  would  wish  me  to  give  it. 

I  wrote  to  Lady  Muir  to  let  Sir  W.  know  that  he  was  in 
your  thoughts  in  the  middle  of  all  your  occupations.  I  enclose 
her  very  nice,  touching  answer.  I  also  send  you  a  most 
strange  letter  I  had  from  Lord  R.  We  had  talked  of  French 
novels  and  French  books.  He  said  he  would  lend  me 
a  wonderful  historical  book  if  I  would  promise  not  to  tell 
any  one  he  had  lent  it  to  me,  not  you  or  Lady  R.  or,  above 
all.  Lady  G. !  I  Scdd  I  would  certainly  tell  you,  but  not  the 
other  two.  Well,  I  kept  it  for  a  week  unopened,  and  then 
one  evening  read  twenty  pages  of  it.  It  was  an  atrocious, 
scurrilous,  dull  book  about  Marie  Antoinette — rare,  I  dare  say, 
but  quite  unreadable  from  depravity  !  Next  day  I  returned  it 
to  him  with  a  very  frank  note,  telling  him  twenty  pages  had 
convinced  me  it  was  too  bad  for  me,  and  that  I  was  concerned 


i8o  THE  LETTERS  OF 

to  know  what  I  had  done  to  make  him  think  I  should  Hke  such 
a  book,  and  still  more  concerned  as  to  what  I  could  do  to  con- 
vince him  I  don't  like  it.  Here  is  his  cautious  and  mysterious 
answer.  It  only  shows  how  utterly  at  sea  and  astray  these 
social  science  prigs  are  in  a  simple  matter  of  decency.  With  all 
his  meetings  and  statistics  for  "  fallen  women,"  he  can't  even 
gauge  what  a  woman  of  his  own  class  would  or  wouldn't  read  ! 
I  feel  certain  his  practical  morality  is  above  suspicion,  but 
his  theories  of  curing  immorality  have  muddled  his  common 
sense.  I  must  explain  to  you  that  the  book  was  worse  than 
common  immorality,  there  were  depths  and  darknesses  beyond 
belief  in  it. 

I  had  a  visit  from  Mr.  Haggard — he  is  in  the  Foreign  Office, 
and  elder  brother  of  the  Colonel  Haggard  at  Suakin.  The 
latter  has  had  passages  with  Chermside.  Of  course  I  know 
nothing  of  who  is  right  or  wrong,  but,  according  to  the 
Haggards,  Chermside  is  a  man  of  the  "  I  told  you  so  "  type. 

Your  pipe  business  is  settled,  and  I  send  you  a  specimen  of 
the  pipes  sent.  Major  Gough  was  married  to  Lady  Stewart's 
niece,  and  Lady  Stewart  had  to  tell  her  of  his  being  killed; 
very  tr3dng,with  her  own  husband  in  great  danger  at  the  fight. 
The  dynamite  attempts  will  interest  you.  Sir  E.  Whitmore's 
joke  was  "  This  is  the  real  distribution  of  seats."  I  went  to  see 
the  blow  up  on  Sunday — an  extraordinary  sight.  The  Speaker 
must  have  been  killed  had  the  House  been  sitting. 

On  Tuesday  I  dined  with  the  Wilfrid  Seymours.  The 
Gleichens,^  Sir  C.  Brownlow,  and  General  Gipps.  Count 
Gleichen  is  in  face  exactly  like  Henry  viii.  !  He  would  do  for 
Fran9ois  I.,  too.  I  am  sorry  not  to  see  Cairo  with  you  in  it, 
but  nothing  would  persuade  me  to  go  there  except  to  see  you. 

2^rd  January  1885. 
Lady  Of  coursc  I  can  think  of  nothing  but  Abu  Klea,  which  I 

Woiseiey.  heard  of  about  6.30  on  the  21st.  As  ill-luck  would  have  it 
I  had  a  headache,  and  instead  of  being  at  my  tea-table  I  was 
Ijdng  down.  I  therefore  missed  General  Bulwer  and  General 
Harman,  who  came  to  tell  me  and  who  were  sent  away,  and 
immediately  after  that  I  got  the  copy  of  the  telegram  from 
Mr.  Hobart.2    It  was  good  news,  and  how  bravely  we  and  the 

1  Afterwards  Prince  and  Princess  Hohenlohe. 
*  Private  Secretary  to  War  Secretary. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  i8i 

enemy  fought  !  I  know  you  are  sorry  for  big,  brave  Bumaby, 
and  so  am  I,  and  many  others,  though  a  certain  gang  may 
rejoice  at  his  being  got  rid  of  !  I  feel  still  all  agog  with  the  fight 
and  cannot  settle  down  to  tell  you  of  my  own  little  miserable 
doings.     It  really  does  not  seem  worth  while. 

I  wish  you  would  not  keep  on  regretting  what  you  call 
your  melancholy  letter.  I  valued  it  extremely.  I  don't 
want  you  to  feel  that  you  must  always  put  your  bright  side 
out  for  me.  If  so,  to  whom  can  you  relax  ?  If  the  news 
makes  me  feel  anxious  I  need  not  refrain  from  telling  you  so, 
because  before  my  letter  reaches  you  things  may  have  taken 
another  turn  and  you  will  know  that  any  cause  for  anxiety  I 
had  is  over.  Of  course  I  do  feel  anxious,  but  I  have  the 
greatest  belief  in  you,  I  don't  mean  your  luck  (hateful,  senseless 
word)  but  your  giving  every  one,  yourself  included,  every 
chance  that  good  sense  can  suggest. 

I  send  you  an  extraordinary  letter  from  "  Annie  Suther- 
land "  about  the  Widow  Blair.  I  don't  propose  to  be  had  up 
for  libel,  and  I  am  thinking  out  a  diplomatic  excuse  and  will 
tell  you  in  my  next  what  I  have  said,  but  I  will  not  mix  myself 
up  in  the  matter,  of  that  you  may  be  sure. 

To-day  Mrs.  Lecky  and  I  drive  down  to  Richmond  to  see  old 
Lady  Russell  at  Pembroke  Lodge. 

20th  January  1885. 
A  week  of  great  excitement  and  anxiety,  ending  most  yj^y^ 
satisfactorily  on  Wednesday  28th  by  your  telegram  of  Sir 
Herbert's  victory  and  the  move  to  Gubat.  It  was  brought 
over  from  War  Office  by  a  little  Mr.  Fleetwood  Wilson ' — he 
shall  be  asked  to  the  first  man's  dinner  you  give.  Poor 
Hobart  was  engaged  breaking  the  news  of  Stewart's  wound 
to  Miss  Stirling,  who  broke  it  to  her  sister  Lady  Stewart. 
I  had  the  greatest  confidence  in  your  plans,  foresight,  and 
arrangements,  but  who  shall  say  that  all  those  gifts  may 
not  be  thrown  over  by  some  unforeseen  circumstance  ?  The 
Camel  Corps  mammas  had  nearly  driven  me  wild  by  their 
visits,  doubts,  questions,  and  fussy  anxiety,  and  the  relief 
after  all  this  was  proportionately  great.  Also  I  knew  that 
you  must  be  like  a  cockchafer  on  a  pin  at  Korti  waiting 
for  news.  Oh  !  my  dear,  what  a  strain  for  you  !  I  really 
^  Later  Sir  Guy  Fleetwood  Wilson. 


Wolseiey, 


i82  THE  LETTERS  OF 

behaved  valiantly  in  never  showing  that  I  knew  you  were  in 
doubt.  My  five  o'clock  tea  became  a  hideous  hour,  for  the 
Camel  Corps  relatives  swoop  down  on  me  then  like  wolves, 
and  I  daren't  shut  my  door  or  they  would  at  once  believe  in 
a  disaster.  I  never  propose  to  stay  in  London  again  during  a 
campaign.  I  can  stand  solitude  anywhere,  but  I  can't  stand 
vapid  thrashing  of  a  subject  over  and  over  again  by  doubting 
idiots.  I  have  sent  you  all  the  papers  of  yesterday  giving 
an  account  of  Stewart's  victory,  wound,  etc.  I  have  got  a 
second  set  to  send  out  for  the  Book  cuttings,  so  you  need  not 
keep  these.  Mrs.  Goschen  lunched  here  yesterday,  and  her 
"  George  "  came  later.  They  were  most  acutely  and  intelli- 
gently interested  in  the  whole  affair.  She  sends  you  word 
that  Chamberlain  has  got  into  hot  water  in  his  recent  speeches ; 
he  has  out-Heroded  Herod  and  frightened  his  audience  by  his 
demagogism.  The  consequence  is  a  request  to  Goschen  to 
stand  for  a  division  of  Edinburgh,  signed  by  all  sorts  of  people 
who  have  hitherto  had  most  advanced  radical  views.  Goschen 
has  not  consented  to  stand,  but  is,  in  a  couple  of  speeches,  to 
give  them  a  taste  of  his  "  quality  "  to  see  how  they  like  him. 

Wednesday  I  dined  with  the  Reays.  A  serious  (not 
a  smart)  party — Dr.  Liddon  and  Mrs.  Ambrose  and  Sir  F. 
Haines  (India  gathering  round  the  Reays  already).  He 
seemed  a  jolly  old  person,  and  "  pouffed  "  with  laughter  at 
his  own  mild  jokes  almost  before  he  had  made  them.  Lady 
R.  is  getting  up  India,  just  as  you  would  imagine.  She  already 
talks  glibly  of  all  kinds  of  places,  and  knows  how,  where,  when 
their  time  will  be  divided.  A  book  on  India  on  every  table, 
with  a  paper-cutter  in  it,  always  near  the  beginning.  I  don't 
think  she  gets  to  the  end  of  any. 

I  was  hugging  myself  with  delight  at  dining  alone  at  home 
to-night,  and  the  Reays  have  just  asked  me  to  meet  Mr.  Glad- 
stone, who  dines  with  them  after  the  Cabinet  to-day. 

Friday,  6th  February  '85. 
Lady  A  day  like  this  one  feels  terribly  the  slowness  of  communica- 

tion  between  us.  What  I  think  now  will  be  out  of  date  24 
days  hence,  when  if  still  at  Korti  it  may  reach,  but  goodness 
knows  where  you  will  be  and  what  you  may  have  been  through 
before  it  does  reach  you.     I  must  tell  you  of  yesterday,  the 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  183 

day  on  which  the  dreadful  Khartoum  news  reached  us.  I 
was  on  my  way  to  see  Lady  Reay.  Meyer,  the  one-legged 
sweeper,  came  across  to  me.  "  Hope  you  have  good  news 
of  his  Lordship."  "  Yes,  I  hope  he  is  quite  well."  "  Bad 
news  this  that  Gordon  is  a  prisoner."  "  Oh  !  there  is  no  news- 
I  have  only  just  left  home  and  I  should  have  heard  it."  "  Oh  I 
but  it's  true,  my  Lady.  /  have  just  heard  it  from  Marlbro' 
House  !  "  and  I  saw  a  royal  carriage  standing  the  other  side 
of  the  street  which  the  crossing-sweeper  had  left  to  come  over 
to  me.  This  gave  me  a  little  shock,  for  I  thought  the  Prince's 
servants  would  not  drive  about  spreading  untrue  news.  I 
went  on,  feeling  very  unhappy,  to  the  Reays.  I  found  them 
both  and  told  them,  but  they  pooh-pooh'd  it.  They  would 
beheve  any  folly  from  a  Duke  and  not  the  greatest  sense 
from  a  beggar.  I  found  Sloane  Street  in  a  hubbub,  full 
of  boys  and  papers.  I  felt  there  must  be  something  wrong, 
so  I  jumped  into  a  cab  and  came  home,  and  found  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Hobart  condensing  your  telegram.  So  you  see 
really  the  wife  of  the  Commander  heard  the  news  from  the 
Sweeper  !  I  have  cut  out  all  the  leading  articles  in  to-day's 
paper  about  Khartoum's  fall,  for  they  cannot  reach  you  quicker 
than  through  me,  and  you  may  like,  though  it  will  be  stale 
news  when  it  reaches  you,  to  know  how  the  shock  was  taken  by 
the  various  papers.  The  first  news  appeared  in  an  edition  of  the 
Daily  Telegraph,  published  at  8  a.m.  This  was  a  great  blow  to 
the  Government,  who  had  intended  to  keep  it  dark  and  who  knew 
that  you  were  holding  the  wires  back  for  24  hours  on  your  side. 
They  can  only  surmise  how  it  leaked  out.  It  seems  your  cipher 
message  began  to  arrive  about  11  o'clock  the  night  before. 
The  clerk  deciphering  it,  finding  the  first  few  lines  very  im- 
portant, wrote  them  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  enclosed  it  in  a 
note  to  Sir  Ralph  Thompson  1  for  him  to  judge  if  it  were  not 
of  sufiicient  importance  for  him  to  come  at  once  to  the  W.O. 
They  think  this  note  must  have  been  tampered  with,  for  what 
appeared  in  the  papers  was  exactly  the  message  as  far  as  the  clerk 
had  copied  it  for  Sir  R.  T.  However,  they  would  have  had  to  tell 
it  this  morning,  so  what  was  got  hold  of  did  no  harm.  Of  course 
it  is  quite  impossible  to  think  of  any  other  subject.  I  grieve 
for  Gordon,  even  with  you  to  think  of  and  the  vista  of  dangers 
and  difficulties  it  brings  upon  you.  Gordon  oughtio  be  one's  first 
^  Permanent  Under-Secretary  of  State  for  War. 


i84  THE  LETTERS  OF 

thought.  I  am  sure  he  is  yours,  and  that  you  could  bear  any- 
thing better  than  the  anxiety  about  him.  Dear  old  General 
Eyre  called  to  tell  me  he  had  seen  Sir  H.  Gordon,  who  was 
satisfied  of  his  brother's  safety,  that  he  was  much  too  valuable  to 
kill  and  they  would  keep  him  to  sell.  Kind  Hobart  to  see  me  late, 
and  read  your  whole  telegram  to  me,  including  your  asking  them 
to  decide  on  their  policy.  He  is  strong  for  troops  to  Suakin  ; 
although  you  called  it  an  "  expensive  luxury  "  he  did  not  see 
why  even  as  such  you  should  not  have  it.  I  said  that  you  told 
me  troops  from  Suakin  could  not  possibly  assist  your  operations, 
but,  of  course,  matters  are  entirely  changed.  You  see.  Sir 
Andrew  Clarke,^  whose  hand,  I  think,  may  be  recognised  in 
the  Times  article  to-day,  is  hotter  than  ever  on  Suakin- 
Berber,  and  because  Khartoum  has  fallen  finds  a  thou- 
sand faults  in  your  mode  of  advance.  They  expect  you  to 
advance  in  haste  to  reach  it  before  it  fell,  and  slowly  as  if  you 
knew  it  had  fallen,  all  at  the  same  time  !  but  I  must  admit 
that  this  one  discordant  note  in  the  Times  is  the  only  unfavour- 
able word  the  papers,  any  of  them,  have  said  about  you. 

"  Alfred  "  (Austin)  thinks  the  press  has  behaved  very  badly 
to  you  in  this  campaign,  giving  you  much  criticism  and  little 
praise.  I  disagreed  with  him,  for  I  think  on  the  whole  they 
have  been  nice  about  you.  The  Daily  Telegraph  certainly  has 
been  most  staunch.  The  Standard  has  been  gloomy  about 
everything.  I  said  to  him,  "  Why  do  you  think  that  they  are 
hard  on  him,  if  they  are  hard.*'  "  Well,  you  know  they  get 
tired  of  its  being  always  Wolseley  for  everything.  /  wrote  the 
article  in  yesterday's  Standard  ;  but  they  cut  out  my  best  para- 
graph about  Garnet."  Now,  my  dear,  here  is  the  kejmote  to 
his  whole  observation.  Because  they  curtailed  his  article,  he 
attributes  it  to  dislike  of  you,  but  I  believe  it  to  be  that  his 
opinion  has  no  weight  and  they  cut  up  his  articles  as  they  like. 
He  is  not  a  power  with  the  press,  despite  his  piquant  and  power- 
ful pen.  For  some  reason  or  other  they  don't  like  him,  and  it 
would  do  you  more  harm  than  good  to  have  him  for  an  advocate 
with  them.  This  is  instinctive  reasoning,  not  logical  reasoning 
I  know,  for  I  am  ignorant  of  the  machinery  of  the  press,  and 
talk  of  it  very  vaguely,  not  understanding  what  I  talk  of.  To 
me  newspapers  seem  Hke  garrulous  people  who  talk  of  things 
they  don't  always  understand.  The  least  check  you  have  is  a 
^  I.G.  Fortifications. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  185 

'*  disaster,"  the  least  success  is  a  "  walk  over  "  ;  they  have  only 
one  talent,  that  of  writing  a  many-sided  leading  article  which 
permits  them,  whatever  happens,  to  say  "  I  told  you  so/'  I 
assure  you,  that  as  far  as  my  own  peace  of  mind  is  concerned  I 
would  just  as  soon  never  see  a  newspaper,  and  only  know  of  the 
campaign  by  what  you  send  to  the  War  Office.  The  rest  is  only 
bubbles  and  bosh  at  id.  a  line. 

Did  I  tell  you  of  the  woman  crossing-sweeper's  homage  to 
you  after  Abu  Klea  ?  She  said  to  me  one  day,  "  I  read  all 
about  Egypt,  m'Lady  ;  knowing  his  Lordship  personally  as  I 
do,  I  take  a  great  interest.  This  march  over  the  desert  is  a  fine 
thing  !  It'll  be  a  dook-dom  for  him,  or  if  it  ain't,  it  ought 
to  be."     I  think  that  better  than  "  Alfred's  "  best  turned  period. 

I  admired  your  brave,  firm  telegram,  no  sign  of  your 
being  alarmed  in  it.  I  fancied  that  you  threw  the  brunt  of 
the  decision  what  to  do  on  the  Government,  to  make  them 
feel  the  weight  of  the  disaster  which  their  imbecility  had 
brought  about,  but  that  you  were  making,  or  had  made, 
your  plans,  regardless  of  their  decision.  Was  I  right  ?  Tell 
me.  It  is  right  to  give  them  a  '*  mauvais  quart  d'heure  " 
when  all  your  genius  and  energy  can't  prevent  you  and  your 
soldiers  having  "  mauvais  "  months  in  consequence  of  their  folly. 

iT^th  February  1885. 

Notes,  telegrams,  letters,  succeed  one  another  so  rapidly  Lady 
that  it  is  quite  difficult  to  write  the  impressions  of  one  before  ^^^^^^^' 
they  are  effaced  by  the  other.  Certainly  wherever  you  go  you 
carry  an  air  of  excitement  with  you.  You  are  not  like  the 
cuttle-fish  which  dashes  off  under  cover  of  a  black  liquid ;  but 
is  there  not  some  electric  fish  that  gives  a  shock  to  those  near 
it  ?  Your  shocks  increase  in  vivacity  with  distance  ;  I  believe 
we  feel  them  here  more  than  you  do  there.  Last  Sunday  I 
found  Brett  had  been  here  and  left  word  he  would  call  again. 
While  eating  my  humble  lunch — orange,  etc. — ^there  comes  a 
note  from  him  enclosing  your  telegram,  **  Delighted  at  pluck 
of  Ministry,  tell  my  wife  I  shall  not  return  this  year,  to 
make  her  plans  for  herself."  Fancy  hearing  that  on  the  ^th  of 
February  \  I  thought  your  "  deHghted  at  pluck  of  Ministry" 
delightfully  suggestive  of  your  surprise  that  they  should  be 
plucky,  and  I  thought  I  would  let  him  see  my  eyes  were  open 
to  the  responsibility  they  are  only  too  glad  to  throw  on  you. 


i86  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Well,  the  Private  Secretary  came  to  see  me,  and  sat  nearly 
two  hours  and  was  very  nice.  I  think  he  knows  you  tell  me 
things,  and  in  consequence  he  is  not  quite  so  bouncey  and  conse- 
quential as  he  was.  Perhaps  he  feels  too  that  you  can't  think 
much  of  the  slave  of  such  slavish  masters.  I  remember,  before 
you  went,  thinking  him  a  very  patronising  young  man,  but 
he  is  less  so  now.  To  return  to  your  telegram,  it  did  take 
the  starch  out  of  me  to  think  of  all  the  time  you  will  be  away  ! 
To-day  comes  the  news  of  Gordon's  death,  and  the  papers  are  in 
mourning.  The  Globe  this  evening  was  awful  reading.  **  Car- 
nage at  Khartoum,  streets  running  with  blood,  children  spiked 
with  spears,  women  violated  and  massacred."  I  felt  I  should 
have  such  a  surrounding  of  the  Camel  mammas,  that  I  told 
Frederick  I  was  only  at  home  to  gentlemen,  not  to  any  ladies. 
The  women  are  so  enervating,  they  won't  be  comforted,  whereas 
men  do  give  one  some  consolation.  I  really  do  put  a  very 
bold  face  on  matters,  and  I  never  let  any  one  see  I  am  anxious. 
I  try  to  be  like  you  and  not  to  admit  there  is  any  danger,  but 
when  I  have  had  the  mothers  here  I  cry  my  eyes  out  as 
soon  as  they  are  gone.  Last  night  I  dined  with  old  Colonel 
North.  Of  course  there  was  a  hubbub  over  Lord  C.  Beres- 
ford  and  his  rescue  of  Wilson,  boiler  mending.  Lady  Charles 
dined  there.  She  came  twenty-five  minutes  late,  "because  of 
all  the  telegrams  she  had  received  " — one  from  the  Queen. 
The  Duke  of  Cambridge  had  been  to  tell  her  the  news 
when  she  was  in  her  bath.  She  arrived  full  of  excitement. 
"  I've  been  so  anxious,  I  thought  I  should  have  died,"  etc.  Now 
if  one  is  anxious  does  one  run  about  proclaiming  it  ?  Then 
she  told  me  Hartington  and  Sir  W.  Harcourt  had  dined  with 
her  on  Sunday,  and  they  had  had  such  long  melancholy  faces, 
she  went  to  bed  feeling  certain  that  some  dreadful  disaster  had 
happened  which  they  could  not  tell  her  of.  No  row  of 
"  Animated  Sandwiches  "  could  rival  her  advertising  power  for 
her  husband,  to  whom  she  is  devoted.  She  is  a  Brigade  of 
Correspondents  in  herself.  I  do  poorly  for  you  in  that 
respect,  for  I  can't  talk  you  up  !  Old  Greaves  is  in  town 
again  and  full  of  Horse  Guards'  talk.  He  hoped  at  one  time 
to  have  the  whole  Suakin  command,  but  to-day  it  is  decided 
he  is  to  be  Chief  of  the  Staff.  He  tells  me  there  is  a  great  tide 
of  public  opinion  in  your  favour  even  in  the  old  school  military 
world.     The  "  old  gentlemen  "  stand  up  for  you  even  at  the 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  187 

U.S.C.,  and  it  is  loo^ced  upon  as  bad  form  to  abuse  you.  He 
has  much  aged  in  India  and  looks  shrivelled.  I  feel  doubtful 
about  Fremantle.  Is  he  good  ?  He  has  borne  the  heat  and 
burden  of  the  day,  and  I  suppose  must  be  given  the  command, 
but  has  he  any  knowledge  ?  And  Sir  Gerald  Graham — did  you 
wish  for  him  ?  I  know  you  so  often  have  to  "  compromise  " 
that  even  if  I  am  told  you  asked  for  these  men  I  should  not 
feel  therefore  sure  you  wanted  them  above  every  one  else.  I 
read  the  Queen's  letter  to  you  before  I  read  your  remarks  on  it, 
so  as  to  have  an  unprejudiced  opinion,  and  I  thought  it  had 
not  the  usual  graciousness.  I  don't  think  I  told  you  the  Duke 
of  Cambridge  wrote  me  a  conventional  letter,  "  our  brave 
soldiers,"  etc.,  on  the  desert  battles,  but  otherwise  not  one  of 
them  has  recognised  my  existence  since  you  left,  though  the 
moment  "  CharUe's  "  boiler  burst  they  seem  to  surround  her. 

Yesterday  Mr.  Goschen  came  to  see  me  on  his  way  to  speak 
at  Liverpool,  and  I  drove  him  to  Euston  Square.  He  had 
thought  of  attacking  the  Government  for  putting  the  responsi- 
bility on  you,  but  decided  not  to  do  so.  Chamberlain  is  very 
angry  at  Goschen  being  entertained  at  Liverpool. 

i^th  February. — Yesterday  we  got  the  news  of  General  Earle's 
being  killed.  I  am  sure  you  wiU  know  how  sorry  I  am.  All  one's 
little  prejudices  against  people  seem  to  die  away  or  rather  to 
rise  in  judgment  against  one  at  such  a  moment.  I  have  often  in- 
tended to  tell  you  how  admirable  she  has  been  this  winter,  so 
calm  and  sensible,  not  a  bit  like  these  odious  screamers  and 
grumblers  of  women  with  whom  I  cannot  feel  sympathy.  I 
know  she  was  anxious,  but  she  looked  to  the  bright  side  of  things. 
Since  old  Greaves  has  been  named  Chief  of  Staff  to  Graham 
and  is  working  at  the  W.O.,  I  often  see  him.  He  is  very 
amusing  about  his  General — "a  fiddle-headed  General,"  he  calls 
him.  He — G. — ^has  secured  an  A.D.C.  6  foot  4  to  be  on  a  level 
with  the  General,  as  he  himself  cannot  be  !  He  says  the  civil 
officials  at  the  W.O.  were  aU  for  giving  him  the  command,  but 
the  Horse  Guards'  side  of  the  house — Whitmore  especially — could 
not  hear  of  it  on  account  of  Fremantle  ^  being  senior.  G.  sug- 
gested he  might  be  made  a  Lt. -General  till  he  got  to  Berber, 
but  on  the  contrary  they  wanted  to  make  him  a  Brigadier- 
General,  which  deprives  him  of  an  A.D.C,  does  it  not  ?  (they 

'General  Fremantle  eventually  commanded  the  Guards  Brigade  at 
Suakin. 


\ 


i88  THE  LETTERS  OF 

thought  nothing  of  lowering  his  rank,  though  they  said  they 
could  not  raise  it) ;  but  anyhow  he  remains  a  M. -General  with 
an  A.D.C.  I  am  sure  I  have  garbled  all  this,  because  you  know 
I  am  "  no  soldier,"  but  perhaps  you  can  debrouiller  it.  I  found, 
in  my  talk  with  Hobart  and  Brett  on  Sunday,  that  they  were 
quite  alive  to  Sir  A.  Clarke's  railway  machinations.  Fancy 
my  having  been  twice  importuned  by  Editor  of  a  paper  to 

put  in  my  portrait.     I  said  "no  "  firmly. 

t 

P.S. — ^Two  nights  ago,  tossing  about  after  the  Khartoum  fall, 
I  comforted  myself  thinking  Mr.  Gladstone  had  had  a  worse 
night.  Next  day  Mrs.  G.  was  heard  to  say  that  William  has 
quite  regained  his  sleeping  powers  ! 

20th  February  1885. 

Lady  My  Dearest — Your  last  "Sister  Anne"  letter — ^will  that 

^  ^^'  remind  you  of  it  ? — ^was  really  tragic.  What  an  agony  of  ex- 
pectation, and  after  all  to  hear  of  poor  Herbert  Stewart's  wound. 
How  that  must  have  marred  the  relief  of  knowing  there  had 
been  a  success.  And  since  then  what  blows  you  have  had  ! 
One  after  the  other — Khartoum,  General  Earle's  death,  Swaine's 
illness  .  .  .  and  how  bravely  you  keep  your  spirits,  apparently, 
through  it  all.  I  think  your  telegrams  so  wonderfully  good,  not 
a  word  too  much,  not  a  confused  expression.  I  was  so  glad 
you  write  to  me  exactly  as  you  feel,  and  don't  try  to  be  cheerful 
as  if  I  were  an  outsider.  I  am  never  alarmed  as  long  as  you 
tell  me  the  real  state  of  things,  but  I  should  be  if  I  thought 
you  doctored  up  a  version  for  my  ear. 

Poor  Mrs.  Earle  sends  you  a  little  message.  "  Tell  Lord 
Wolseley  that  I  am  being  as  brave  as  I  can."  I  feel  the 
greatest  admiration  and  respect  for  that  woman.  She  makes 
less  to-do  over  her  husband's  death  than  these  other  women 
do  over  theirs  going  out,  and  I  don't  believe  they  care,  and  I 
know  she  does  care.  Mrs.  Gladstone — ^Mrs.  Earle  called  her 
"  that  woman  " — had  been  to  see  Lady  Codrington,  and  Lady 
C.  had  told  her  some  very  wholesome  truths.  Mrs.  Gladstone 
began  by  saying,  "We  had  no  idea  General  Earle  was  in 
any  danger  !  "  Lady  C.  told  her  it  was  not  the  last  valuable 
life  that  would  be  lost  owing  to  the  procrastination  of  the 
Government  !  Mrs.  Gladstone  walked  ofi  in  dudgeon.  Ask  Sir 
Owen  Lanyon  for  his  story  of  his  farewell  to  Mr.  G.  on  going  out 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  189 

to  join  the  Expedition.  The  story  that  runs  from  mouth  to 
mouth  is  that  Mr.  G.  said,  "  What  Expedition  ?  I  know  of 
none.  I  suppose  you  mean  the  troops  that  are  temporarily 
quartered  in  Egypt  under  Lord  Wolseley."  Mr.  G.  came  to 
call  here  one  day  last  week,  but  I  am  glad  to  say  I  was  out. 

Mr.  Goschen  has  paid  me  several  visits  lately.  I  hear  from 
the  A.  Russells  that  he  is  much  alarmed  at  the  retreat  on  Abu 
Klea,  so  many  people  will  be.  I  think  it  a  pity  that  the  Govern- 
ment did  not  publish  your  telegram  at  once  explaining  your 
reasons  (I  have  seen  them)  to  allay  this  panic,  hut  I  think  as  the 
retreat  is  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  fall  of  Khartoum  and 
Gordon's  death,  and  your  telegrams  show  it  to  be  so,  they  prefer 
to  let  the  public  think  that  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  the  result 
of  your  finding  the  enemy  in  greater  strength  than  you 
expected.  Take  my  advice  and  try  as  much  as  possible  to  let 
the  public  into  your  reasons  for  doing  things.  You  hav^< 
them  with  you.  The  Grovemment,  for  their  own  party  ends, 
will  conceal  anything  that  emphasises  (as  this  does)  the 
result  of  their  procrastination.     Do  you  understand  what  I 

mean  ?     Mr.  Goschen  tells  me  he  thinks very  clever,  but 

the  opinion  of  him  amongst  men  of  his  own  age  and  standing  is 
that  he  is  not  over  straight  and  not  to  be  much  trusted.  He  is 
^a  pressjnan,  and  Goschen  says  lets  out  Cabinet  secrets  to  the 
press,  in  return  for  which  they  write  articles  which  he  inspires. 
He  then  works  Lord  Hartington  by  means  of  those  articles,  which 
he  represents  as  pubUc  opinion.  He  likes  to  hold  the  threads  of 
power.  I  tell  you  all  this  for  what  it  is  worth.  A  warning  does 
no  harm,  and  you  are  as  wary  as  he  is  and  much  cleverer. 

Windsor  Castle, 

26th  February  1885. 
Last  Friday  I  went  with  Mrs.  Grant  to  Hampton  Court,  and      Lady 
we  were  walking  back  through  the  Gardens  when  a  man  in  the   ^^^^^^y* 
deepest  black,  Uke  a  mute,  came  up  and  handed  me  a  letter  with 
deepest  black  border  and  the  largest  black  seal.     You  can  guess 
what  horrible  thought  came  into  my  mind  for  a  second  !     The 
seal,  the  border,  the  man,  seemed  to  make  one  huge  blot  which 
darkened  the  very  sun.     When  I  had  courage  to  look  at  the 
letter  and  saw  it  was  from  the  Queen,  I  took  heart,  for  I  knew 
she  would  not  be  the  person  to  tell  me  of  any  misfortune.     The 
man  said  in  a  sepulchral  whisper,  handing  it  to  me,  "  Lady 


/ 


190  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Wolseley,  I  believe  ?  The  letter  is  from  the  Queen,  and  I  am 
to  take  back  an  answer."  I  read  it  ;  and  enclose  it,  with  a  copy 
of  my  answer,  which  I  had  to  write  at  the  Greyhound  Inn.  On 
Monday  I  got  my  summons  to  be  here  on  Wednesday  and  stay 
till  Friday.  What  do  you  think  of  that  ?  You  have  never 
been  here  for  so  long !  Tuesday  we  drove  over  to  Petworth. 
I  wanted  Mrs.  Grant  to  see  it.  The  porter  said  it  was  not 
shown,  but  perhaps  sending  in  a  card  might  do.  Accordingly  I 
boldly  sent  in  my  card,  and  we  were  put  into  a  sort  of  waiting- 
room.  After  some  delay,  some  one  appeared  with  a  jingling 
bunch  of  keys,  who  turned  out  to  be  Lady  Leconfield.  She 
had  most  kindly  come  herself,  and  you  can't  think  how  nice  she 
was.  I  made  many  apologies  for  what  I  feared  might  seem  like 
an  intrusion,  but  she  seemed  really  dehghted  to  show  us  the 
house.  Yesterday  I  spent  some  time  with  Mrs.  Goschen  on 
my  way  to  Paddington.  You  must  read  his  excellent  speech. 
S.  Northcote's  "Censure"  is  mild  and  weak,  and  Mr.  G.  is 
gathering  courage  from  there  having  been  no  indignation 
meetings  about  Gordon.  Then  we  came  on  here,  a  Royal 
carriage  and  Sir  J.  Co  well  to  meet  us.  I  dropped  Frances  with 
Lady  Cowell,  and  went  in  and  had  a  chat.  Then  Sir  John  Co  well 
brought  me  on  here.  I  felt  a  waif  and  stray,  but  not  nervous. 
Lady  Southampton,  the  Lady-in -Waiting,  came  at  once  to  see 
me :  very  friendly  and  kind.  At  8.45,  preceded  by  the  usual 
bishop-like  person,  I  began  my  walk  along  the  Corridors. 
The  Equerry  only.  Major  Edwards,  was  at  his  post  ;  then  came 
Lord  Methuen,  the  Lord-in-Waiting,  Miss  Stopford,  that  was  all. 
By  and  by  we  drew  ourselves  up  in  battle  array  across  the 
Corridor.  The  Queen  came  in,  came  over  to  me,  and  as  I  kissed 
her  hand  she  kissed  me,  but  said  nothing  ;  then  the  Duchess  of 
Albany,  Princess  Beatrice,  and  Prince  Louis  of  Battenberg. 
Princess  Louis  had  had  her  baby  at  5.30  to-day,  so  she  did  not 
appear  !  Prince  Louis  is  so  handsome.  I  dare  say  you  have  seen 
him,  but  I  was  quite  struck.  You  know  the  dinners  are  not  bois- 
terous !  This  was  awfully  whispery,  and  such  pauses  !  I  felt  as  if  I 
should  have  Uked  to  give  one  good  screech,  tuck  up  my  petticoats, 
and  rush  round  the  table.  Princess  Beatrice  talked  a  little  to 
me  and  smiled,  and  was  quite  nice,  and  whispered  to  the  servant, 
**  I  will  take  a  little  roast  chicken,"  as  if  she  were  confiding  a 
murder  to  him.  After  dinner,  the  Queen  talked  to  me  most 
of  the  evening — very   kindly   and  simply   and  intelligently. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  191 

knowing  more  about  Egypt  and  every  detail  of  every  of&cer 
than  all  of  us  put  together.     Several  slashes  at  Mr.  Gladstone. 

What  do  you  think  of  your  wife's  courtier-like  qualities  ? 
Two  more  state  dinners  !  Oh,  good  mercy  I  However,  it's  a 
blessing  to  know  that  in  my  ignorance  I  have  done  nothing  to 
offend  H.M.  and  to  mar  your  fortunes.  I  may  play  Sarah  yet 
to  your  Marlborough,  sir,  but  won't  I  trip  up  whoever  tries  to 
be  Masham.  But  seriously  I  do  think  it  very  nice  of  the  Queen 
to  show  me  so  much  kindness  and  goodness. 

To-day  after  luncheon,  Miss  Stopford,  the  maid  of  honour, 
told  me  the  Queen  would  be  much  pleased  if  I  would  stay  till 
Saturday,  that  I  was  not  to  do  so  if  inconvenient,  but  it  was  a 
great  comfort  to  H.M.  to  talk  to  me  !  Of  course  I  consented. 
Then  F.  was  sent  for  from  the  Cowells',  and  had  a  private 
audience  without  me,  which  I  hear  she  got  through  very  well. 
Then  Lady  S.  took  me  for  a  drive  through  the  lovely  Park.  It 
is  quite  exquisite — ^trees,  deer,  water,  everything.  Tea  in  my 
own  room,  and  at  7  the  Queen  sent  for  me.  A  "  Bishop  "  con- 
ducted me  into  a  lovely  little  room.  It  is  panelled  with  white 
and  gold  arabesques,  and  let  into  the  arabesques  all  round  the 
room  Uke  jewels  in  gold  setting  are  miniatures,  50  in  each  panel, 
I  dare  say,  arranged  in  families  (the  Queen  told  me)  beginning 
with  James  i.  Above  them,  forming  another  kind  of  panelling, 
portraits  of  all  George  the  Third's  children,  himself,  Charlotte, 
etc.,  charming  pictures,  heads  only,  by  Gainsboro',  I  should  think. 
I  had  time  to  see  all  this,  as  the  room  was  empty.  It  was  very 
small,  and  gave  one  somehow  the  idea  of  a  lift.  A  bow  window 
with  chairs  arranged  in  a  semicircle,  as  if  to  receive  the  Emperor 
of  all  the  Roosias,  a  large  straight  couch  with  a  table  before  it, 
and  two  large  glass-topped  tables  fiUed  with  miniatures  and 
orders  made  of  all  sorts  of  precious  stones.  Quite  exquisite. 
There  are  three  doors,  and  as  I  did  not  know  which  the  Queen 
would  come  in  by  I  felt  as  if  my  back  was  always  towards  the 
wrong  one,  and  kept  pirouetting  round.  I  did  not  think  it 
manners  to  sit  down  !  I  only  waited  about  five  minutes,  and 
she  came  in  smiling  very  kindly,  and  I  curtseyed.  She  made 
for  the  big  sofa  and  sat  down,  and  made  a  sort  of  pat  with  her 
hand  on  the  empty  part  of  the  sofa,  but  I  would  not  see  that 
till  she  said,  "  Won't  you  sit  down  ?  "  So  we  sat  down  together, 
the  Queen  and  I.  She  was  in  a  black  silk  dress  made  anyhow 
and  nohow,  and  a  lace  shawl  over  her  shoulders.     Sitting,  the 


192  THE  LETTERS  OF 

lack  of  stature  is  realised,  and  she  rested  her  feet  on  a  stool,  but 
once  up  she  moves  with  great  ease,  grace,  and  lightness.  Her 
"  allure  '*  is  really  remarkable.  She  swims  and  floats  and  is 
never  awkward.  To  repeat  the  conversation  is  more  than  I 
can  do.  It  was  principally  about  Egypt,  but  with  an  occa- 
sional side  wave  to  Gladstone  and  politics.  Rather  interro- 
gative and  ejaculatory  on  her  part,  submissive  on  mine.  She 
has  a  more  changing  expression  than  any  one  I  can  think  of.  A 
very  bright  young  smile,  when  her  face  lights  up  and  she  shows 
her  gums  and  some  little  teeth  in  her  upper  jaw.  Then  she 
has  another  expression  when  she  wants  to  emphasise  her  dis- 
approval of  Mr.  G.'s  meanderings  and  maunderings,  her  mouth 
tightly  drawn  down  at  the  comers,  and  her  eyes  fixed  angrily 
not  on  me,  but  on  space,  when  her  accent  then  becomes  more 
foreign  and  there  is  a  little  action  of  the  hand — "  First  they 
will  (hand  advanced),  then  they  won't  (drawn  back),  and  then 
they  will  again  when  it  is  too  late.  Always  the  same,  they  seem 
afraid."  This,  with  variations  of  subject,  lasted  twenty  or  thirty 
minutes,  and  then  she  went  off  by  her  door  and  I  by  mine,  and 
I  had  just  time  to  dress  for  dinner. 

The  Queen  told  me,  as  a  secret,  of  your  wishing  to  be  made 
Governor  of  the  Soudan.  The  Government  seem  halting  about 
it,  she  says,  but  she  is  all  in  favour  of  your  wish  being  granted 
and  without  delay.  I  said  I  hoped  it  would  not  be  "  a  five 
years'  appointment,"  and  she  laughed  !  Do  not  think  me  mad, 
but  I  had  sent  her  by  Miss  Stopford  your  last  letter. 

I  slept  in  the  Lancaster  Tower,  and  had  a  tiny  sitting-room 
full  of  nice  oval  portraits  of  the  Georges  and  their  queens.  A 
nice  bedroom,  with  a  lovely  small  Gainsborough  of  "  Mrs.  Robin- 
son "  sitting  on  a  rural  bank  with  a  white  Spitz  dog  beside  her. 
At  dinner  I  sat  between  Sir  H.  Ponsonby  and  General  Gardiner. 
Lord  Methuen,  dear  old  man,  sent  you  most  affectionate  messages, 
but  so  inarticulate  that  I  could  not  gather  them  all  together. 


Fernhurst,  Surrey, 
4th  March  1S85. 

Lady  The  last   evening  at  the  Castle,   Miss   Stopford  told    me 

Woiseiey.  ^j^^  Queen  wished  I  could  go  and  live  near  Windsor  during 

your    absence  !      I  felt   a  little  taken   aback — Miss  Stopford 

was    most    affectionate,  kissing   me,    holding    my  hand,   and 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  193 

when  a  favourite  in  waiting  does  that,  I  feel  sure  it  shows 
how  the  wind  blows ;  but  winds,  of  course,  do  blow  hot  and 
cold.  Still,  I  must  say  I  found  the  Queen  most  kind  and  most 
equable  during  my  three  days  there.  When  she  sent  for  me 
before  leaving  she  was  more  reproachful  even  than  before  of 
Gladstone  and  the  Government.  I  cannot  tell  you  with  what 
friendliness  and  confidence  she  spoke  of  you.  Nothing  could 
have  been  nicer,  and  it  was  said  so  simply  and  just  in  the  spirit 
you  would  have  Uked.  She  also  said  vaguely  that  she  wished  I 
could  come  near  Windsor,  but  I  (respectfully)  gave  her  Uttle 
encouragement.  I  told  her  I  had  for  the  present  a  house  lent 
me  here,  and  that  afterwards  I  hoped  to  go  abroad;  that 
taking  a  house  near  Windsor  would  be  expensive,  and  she 
seemed  to  enter  into  my  reasons. 

We  had  rather  an  affecting  Uttle  passage.  She  gave  me  a 
photo,  framed,  for  Frances,  which  I  was  really  touched  at,  and 
as  her  httle  hand  was  so  near  me — ^we  were  sitting  together — I 
ventured  to  take  it  up  and  give  it  a  kiss  !  I  think  she  liked  it. 
I  said  I  should  be  very  jealous  of  Frances'  possession  and  should 
borrow  it,  upon  which  she  at  once  said  she  would  give  me  one, 
and  the  next  day  she  did.  Then  when  she  got  up  to  go  and  bid 
me  good-bye,  instead  of  going  into  her  own  room,  she  said 
something  about  her  daughter-in-law  and  went  out  into  the 
corridor  and  flew  along  at  such  a  pace  !  She  really  runs  as 
if  on  castors  !  When  I  finally  said  good-bye,  she  showed 
me  your  telegram  about  your  concentrating  at  Merawi, 
but  said  I  was  not  to  mention  it  for  a  week.  (I  am 
surprised  at  her  trusting  me.)  She  returned  to  her  strong 
wish  that  they  should  consent  at  once  to  your  being  appointed 
Governor  of  the  Soudan.  In  short,  it  appears  quite  clear  that 
no  delay  is  to  be  traced  to  her. 

Miss  Stopford  in  our  adieux  again  alluded  to  Windsor  as  my 
possible  residence.  I  said  after  my  three  weeks  here,  the  Queen 
would  be  abroad  and  then  at  Balmoral,  I  supposed.  She  said, 
"No,  here,  in  May."  I  said  if  the  Queen  really  wished  me  at  any 
time  to  be  near  Windsor,  I  would,  of  course,  make  a  point  of 
doing  it,  but  that  otherwise  than  its  being  a  direct  wish,  it  did 
not  fit  in  with  my  plans. 

I  paid  Mr.  Goschen — she  was  out — a  visit  on  my  way  through 
town.  He  was  full  of  the  Censure  Division.  Gladstone  had 
said  if  it  were  under  15  he  would  resign,  but  he  now  "  considers  " 
13 


194  THE  LETTERS  OF 

the  real  majority  was  22,  which  was  the  division  for  to-morrow's 
amendment.  He  always  considers  whatever  he  Ukes.  Mr. 
Goschen  had  met  him  in  the  Lobby,  and  not  wishing  to  appear 
to  run  away  from  him  went  near  him.  Gladstone  said  to  him, 
but  not  unamiably,  "  You  have  done  it."  Mr.  Goschen  had 
promised  to  write  you  a  political  letter  through  me,  and  I  hope 
it  may  come  in  time  to  go  with  this.  I  had  the  other  side  from 
Alfred  Austin  at  Waterloo.  He  had,  according  to  his  saying, 
been  *'  pulling  all  the  wires  and  working  the  party  up  to  the 
mark,"  impressing  on  them  they  must  take  office  if  the  chance 
offered.  He  seemed  not  without  hope  of  a  coalition  with 
Gk)schen.  However,  as  events  prove,  their  turn  has  not  come 
yet, 

I  have  mastered  both  the  ciphers,  but  I  decidedly  prefer 
the  Dictionary  one  in  groups  of  figures.  I  have  already  added 
one  word  : 

222,500 — Queen. 
We  may  want  that. 

Also  tell  me,  how  shall  I  convey  to  you  that  my  message  is 
private!  I  mean  that  your  A.D.C.'s  or  Secretary  are  not  to 
decipher  it.  Till  I  know  this,  I  shall,  if  I  have  occasion  to  tele- 
graph, begin  with  the  word  Private  or  Very  Private,  so  as  to  warn 
them  off.  Also  instead  of  putting  from  Lady  Wolseley  I  shall 
put  from  "  E,"  my  maiden  initial.  Will  that  do  ?  The  number 
cipher  is  quite  easy.  The  letter  one  I  quite  understand,  but  it 
takes  me  longer  to  decipher. 

Yesterday  (3rd)  I  heard  from  you  up  to  9th  February.  Three 
sheets  of  your  journal  were  taken  up  with  your  hearing  of 
Khartoum's  fall  and  your  subsequent  plans,  and  you  entered 
into  particulars  of  what  made  a  retreat  necessary  and  desirable. 
Beyond  a  whack  at  "  procrastination  "  (which  Her  Majesty  won't 
mind),  there  was  not  the  least  bit  of  dynamite  of  any  kind,  and  I 
sent  off  the  three  sheets  to  the  Queen.  A  fourth  sheet  I  suppressed, 
as  it  would  not  have  done  at  all  for  her  eyes.  I  hope  you  will 
not  be  angry  with  me  or  think  I  am  foolish,  but  I  think  it  very 
good  that  she  should  hear  your  views,  and  especially  when,  as 
in  this  instant,  she  can't  think  them  arranged  for  her.  You  will 
see  the  letter  I  wrote  to  her  with  the  journal.  I  wished  her  to 
understand  she  was  not  always  to  see  it,  and  to  think  the  reason 
is  your  remarks  about  your  comrades.  I  said  you  kept  it 
{while  campaigning)  to  prevent  her  looking  on  you  as  a  Greville 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  195 

in  peace-time.  How  astute  I  am  becoming !  But  I  shall  not  be 
happy  till  I  know  you  approve,  and  if  you  don't,  pray  say  so 
frankly,  and  though  it  will  grieve  me,  I  will  impHcitly  follow 
your  instructions  in  future. 


Thursday,  12th  March  1885. 

My  Dearest, — Your  Httle  extract  from  Gordon's  Journal     Lady 
saying    "  a    steamer    and     100    men    would    have    relieved  ^^^^^^^y- 
Khartoum,"  I  am  promulgating  everywhere  because  it  justifies 
any  "  rashness,"  as  it  would  no  doubt  be  called  by  captious 
critics,  on  your  part. 

Brack's  letter  amused  me.  Such  a  lot  of  personaUty  about 
it.  No  simplicity  or  unconsciousness  of  self  without  which 
no  man  can  be  great,  and  which  you  have.  He  describes  all 
a  Chief  of  the  Staff  ought  to  be  evidently  from  a  mental  mirror 
of  what  he  was  to  General  Earle.  I  dare  say  he  was,  but  it 
is  the  mirror's  part  to  say  so,  not  his.  He  wants  to  do  his 
part  and  the  mirror's  too.  I  am  rather  pleased  with  this 
conceit ! 

I  am  most  curious  to  know  why  finally  Matammeh  was 
not  attacked.  Perhaps  I  ought  to  have  deduced  it  from  other 
facts,  but  my  mind  is  not  military  enough  for  that.  The 
standards  reached  us  quite  safely.  They  must  go  into  a  glass 
case  in  Hill  Street  against  the  wall,  designed  by  Bodley.  I 
see  it  in  my  mind's  eye,  swords  and  other  curios  in  it  too.  You 
will  have  got  a  cipher  message  from  me,  "  Understand  both 
systems,  prefer  Dictionary."  I  thought  it  well  to  send  it  at  the 
cost  even  of  £2,  2s.  gd.,  to  show  you  I  can  understand  every 
message  you  may  send.  We  live  in  stirring  times,  and  it  seems 
to  me  from  one  moment  to  another  you  might  have  some- 
thing to  communicate  and  might  hesitate  to  send  me  a  message 
unless  you  knew  I  could  understand.  I  am  sorry  to  lose  Col. 
Stewart's  guns  pike,  but  I  think  it  quite  right  his  relations 
should  have  it  if  they  wish  to,  and  your  praise  of  him, 
which  I  would  rather  have  than  the  spike.  I  will  find  out 
from  Ralli  what  claimants  there  are.  I  thought  Lord 
Hartington's  letter  to  you  a  poor  wishy-washy  unstates- 
manUke  affair.  Three  sheets  that  might  have  gone  into 
ten  Unes.  The  Duke  is  hard  to  read  and  his  ratiocinations 
not  of  much  value  either,  but  still  I  like  to  see  what  he  says  to 


196  THE  LETTERS  OF 

you.  The  Queen  has  been  good  to  me  again.  Here  is  her 
answer  to  my  letter — ^which  I  sent  you  last  week — enclosing 
her  your  bit  of  journal  about  the  fall  of  Khartoum.  You  see 
how  very  nicely  she  writes.  Then  I  got  a  telegram  from  Miss 
Stopford  saying  she  wished  me  to  telegraph  inquiry  about  your 
eyes  (I  had  got  Hartington  to  do  so  already),  and  let  her  know  the 
exact  truth  about  your  return.  Luckily  I  had  just  heard  the  good 
news  that  you  were  perfectly  well  (that  telegram  reached  me  on 
Saturday  morning,  the  7th),  and  sent  it  off  to  her.  I  inquired 
of  Hobart — ^the  truth  of  the  rumour  of  your  return — hoping  to 
draw  him  if  they  really  did  think,  as  appears  from  his  enclosed 
letter,  of  sending  for  you,  and  I  enclose  his  telegram.  Now  I 
must  try  to  tell  you  any  news  of  myself  and  others  I  can  think 
of.  The  political  part  of  my  letter  that  Lady  A.  alludes  to  and 
says  she  read  to  Lord  Arthur  was  an  argument  I  used  in  answer 
to  her  letter  of  27th  February.  She  said  Gladstone  was  not 
to  be  blamed  for  individual  deaths.  I  said  he  was,  just  as  a 
bad  doctor  would  be  blamed.  The  patient  might  die  equally 
under  the  hands  of  a  good  doctor,  but  having  a  bad  one  (an 
incompetent  Prime  Minister)  would  add  to  the  keenness  of  one's 
regret.  I  must  tell  you  that  Lady  Stewart  is  left  not  so  well  off 
as  I  hoped.  Herat  looks  threatening  to-day.  Perhaps  you  will 
have  to  be  bundled  off  there  as  C.-in-C. 

Brett  asked  me  some  months  ago  if  you  would  "  like  to  go 
to  India.*'  I  sent  Miss  Stopford,  for  the  Queen,  your  quotation 
of  Gordon  saying  a  steamer  and  100  soldiers  would  have 
relieved  Khartoum.  I  see  to-day  the  Gladstones  are  at 
Windsor,  so  the  Queen  can  let  that  off  at  Mr.  G.  She  will 
like  to,  I  am  sure. 

I  go  up  Tuesday  for  the  Drawing-Room  on  Wednesday. 
Kind  Colonel  North  lends  me  his  brougham,  and  Lord  Kenmare  1 
has  given  me  the  entree,  and  says,  "  as  I  am  sure  the  Queen  would 
like  you  to  have  it  at  this  Drawing-Room." 


6  Hill  Street,  Friday y  2^11%  March. 

Lady  My  Windsor  No.  2  is  over.    The  Queen  sent  for  me  last  night 

^  ^^^^'  after  I  arrived  and  kept  me  till  8.30,  and  I  had  to  be  dressed 

for  dinner  and  was  at  8.45.     Sharp  work.     The  interview  again 

(I  have  stolen  this  paper  by  mistake)  in  the  little  room  as  before, 

1  Lord  Chamberlain. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  197 

sitting  together  on  the  sofa.  She  was  very  gracious.  She  wanted 
to  see  me  to  get  me  to  send  you  a  telegram,  which  I  shall  do 
to-day.  She  was  to  write  down  the  substance  of  what  she 
wished  to  say,  I  to  reduce  it  to  telegram  length  and  into  cipher. 
She  spoke  even  with  affection  of  you  and  your  anxieties.  I 
asked  her  if  she  thought  you  were  to  be  brought  home  at  all 
this  summer,  and  told  her  of  the  "  cold  fit  "  that  Colonel  Swaine 
had  found  prevailing.  She  seemed  to  have  been  kept  in  the  dark 
about  that.  She  had  seen  Lord  Hartington  yesterday  and  he 
had  seemed,  she  thought,  firm  about  going  to  Berber  if  not 
Khartoum,  but  even  possibly  Khartoum.  I  told  her  of  your 
anxieties  about  the  great  heat  for  the  troops  and  your  feeling 
that  our  army  was  too  small — our  general  army — to  keep  so 
many  troops  locked  up  in  Egypt,  and  that  you  thought  it 
Dught  to  be  increased  by  20,000  men.  I  did  not  say  a  word 
about  your  thinking  of  handing  our  responsibilities  over  to  the 
French,  or  preferring  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Egypt,  etc.  I 
am  certain  she  would  be  averse  to  any  packing  out  of  Egypt,  and 
I  suspect  that  the  Government  would  Hke  you  to  do  their  dirty 
work  and  back  out  for  them,  and  I  was  determined  I  would  not 
help  in  that.  I  do  hope  I  was  right  in  what  I  did  or  didn't 
do  !  I  am  a  poor  stupid  mole  working  in  the  dark  and  wish 
I  were  clever  and  a  statesman. 

At  dinner  we  had  the  Dow.  of  Roxburghe — a  civil  Duchess — 
old  Lord  Sydney  with  his  nose  in  the  air.  Miss  Stopford,  Major 
Edwards  and  Lord  Methuen,  only  the  Queen  and  Princess  B., 
no  other  Royalties,  Princess  Beatrice  looking  quite  pretty 
and  sUm  and  young.  The  Queen  talked  much  to  me  after 
dinner,  and  I  am  to  write  to  her  abroad  if  anything  occurs.  I 
sent  her  the  Mahdi's  letter  and  Gordon's  two  to  read,  and  she 
sent  me,  when  I  was  stepping  into  bed,  by  Miss  S.  what  she 
wished  telegraphed  to  you.  You  will  have  had  and  answered 
it  long  before  you  get  this,  and  from  discretion  I  don't  repeat  it. 
"  Angeli "  is  doing  a  full-length  portrait  of  her,  and  she  wished 
me  to  see  it,  which  I  did  this  morning  before  leaving.  It  is  a 
very  fine  picture,  exactly  like,  yet  giving  her  height  and  managing 
her  figure  admirably.  After  dinner  last  night  she  gave  me  the 
telegram  to  read  of  Lord  GreviUe's  question  in  the  H.  about 
Sir  J.  M'Neill,  and  was  deUghted  that  Lord  Greville  had  had 
a  good  snubbing.  She  also  lamented  "  Arthur's  "  postponed 
return,  but  said  the  appointment  was  '*  very  gratifying."     She 


igS  »  THE  LETTERS  OF 

is  very  angry  they  didn't  make  you  Gov.  of  the  Soudan,  which  she 
had  most  strongly  urged,  and  said  she  had  told  Mr.  G.  he  was 
treating  you  like  Gordon  over  again.  Sir  E.  Baring  had  advo- 
cated it  too  most  strongly.  She  said,  "  I  have  been  obliged 
to  be  very  rude  to  them  all,  they  are  so  dilatory  and  tiresome." 
Poor  great  lady,  I  really  feel  very  sorry  for  her,  especially  since 
she  is  nice  to  me  !  but  that  is  human  nature.  She  said  although 
she  wants  rest  she  dreads  to  go  abroad,  "for  I  never  know 
what  they  will  do  when  my  back  is  turned." 

The  Queen  does  everything  in  her  power  to  be  nice  to  me 
and  about  you,  so  we  must  try  to  forgive  the  letter  which  gave 
you  pain. 

I  have  spent  a  long  time  ciphering  the  message  to  you.  I 
am  afraid  you  won't  be  over-pleased  to  get  it,  but  still  remember 
I  do  think  the  Queen  is  anxious  to  be  on  good  terms  with  you 
and  that  you  should  be  confidential  to  her.  I  have  to  go  out 
and  send  off  my  message  and  then  scufiBle  to  Waterloo  to  go 
down  to  Haslemere  by  a  5  o'clock  train.  I  am  hurried,  therefore. 
I  can't  tell  you  how  much  I  feel  for  you  and  all  your  worries 
and  bothers,  and  how  I  wish  I  could  help  you,  and  above  all  that 
you  could  come  home  for  good,  but  don't  be  persuaded  by 
poUticians  to  advise  a  retreat.  You  have  the  country  with 
you  now,  and  I  am  sure  you  would  not  if  you  advised  retreat 
unless  you  could  show  in  black  and  white  that  it  was  because 
it  was  doubtful  whether  at  the  end  of  the  summer  they  would 
after  all  go  to  Khartoum.  If  you  threw  up  your  command  on 
that  ground  I  believe  every  one  would  be  with  you. 


APPENDIX 

(The  Queen's  Letter.) 

Knowing  that  you  are  often  with  poor  unhappy  Lady  Stewart, 
I  write  these  lines  to  you  begging  you  to  say  to  her  how  deep, 
how  intensely  deep  and  heartfelt  my  sympathy  is  with  her  in 
her  present  overwhelming  misfortune  !  /  lose  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  Generals  in  my  Army,  and  who  from  his  youth 
might  have  been  of  inestimable  service  to  his  country.  It  is 
too  terrible  to  think  of  him,  struck  down  just  after  the  brilliant 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  199 

victory  of  Abu  Klea  !  I  know  what  a  grief  this  is  to  your 
husband,  who  had  also  such  a  regard  for  heroic  General  Gordon, 
to  save  whom  he  went  out  and  wanted  to  go  and  urged  the 
Government  to  send  an  expedition  out  long  ago.  It  is  all 
terrible,  such  an  anxiety,  and  I  do  feel  so  much  for  Lord 
Wolseley,  for  the  shock  of  the  fall  of  Khartoum  just  when  it 
seemed  within  his  grasp  must  have  been  fearful ;  I  have,  how- 
ever, the  fullest  confidence  in  him,  and  feel  sure  he  will  do  all 
well.  What  an  anxious  time  for  you  !  I  hope  soon  to  see 
you. 

Pray  let  me  know  how  poor  Lady  Stewart  is  and  how  she 
bears  the  frightful  blow.  I  think  she  has  a  boy  ?  Trusting 
your  little  girl  is  well. 


Greyhound  Inn,  Hampton  Court, 
20th  February  1885. 

Here,  on  my  way  to  spend  a  few  days  at  a  friend's  house      Lady  ^ 
near  Haslemere,  I  have  just  been  overtaken  by  your  Majesty's  repiyio^the 
messenger,  who  has  given  me  your  most  touching  letter.     I  do     Queen. 
not  know  how  sufficiently  to  express  my  gratitude  for  the  terms 
in  which  you  mention  my  husband.     I  know  your  Majesty  has 
no  more  devoted,  I  would  if  I  dared  say  more  loving,  servant 
and  subject  than  he  is,  and  that  a  few  words  of  praise  from  you 
will  have  the  most  inspiring  influence  on  him,  and  your  approval 
will  help  him  to  bear  what,  even  to  his  cheerful  mind,  must  be  a 
terrible  load  of  anxiety. 

I  feel  I  must  not  dwell  any  longer  on  ourselves,  but  must  tell 
your  Majesty  that  before  leaving  London  this  morning,  and  the 
moment  I  heard  the  dreadful  news,  I  went  to  see  Miss  Stirling 
(her  sister),  who  is  with  Lady  Stewart.  She  told  me  her  sister  is 
wonderfully  calm,  more  so  almost  than  they  could  wish ;  but 
the  long  tension  of  anxiety,  with  alternate  hopes  and  fears,  that 
she  has  gone  through  for  so  many  weeks,  being  now  succeeded 
by  this  last  crushing  blow,  have  completely  prostrated  her ;  she 
was  quiet,  but  stunned  and  scarcely  reahsing  it  all  yet.  The 
news  was  broken  to  her  at  half-past  seven  this  morning.  May 
I  be  permitted  to  add  that  I  also  saw  Mrs.  Earle  to-day  ?  She 
is  bearing  up  quite  wonderfully  and  with  the  most  admirable 
and  unselfish  courage. 

I  trust  I  am  not  doing  wrong  in  sending  your  Majesty's 


200  THE  LETTERS  OF 

letter  to  Lady  Stewart.     I  think  it  will  help  and  support  her  to 
know  the  Queen  has  such  heartfelt  sympathy  for  her. 

Begging  your  Majesty  will  overlook  the  many  shortcomings 
of  my  hurriedly  written  letter. 

War  Office,  2Sth  February  1885. 

R,H.  In  my  short  note  to  you  to-day,  written  amid  the  usual 

^L^^  ^°  interruptions,  I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  we  recently  had  a  most 
WoiseUy.  unexpected  ally  in  H.R.H.,  who  bowled  out  the  Visionary  R.E., 
as  clear  as  a  whistle.  He  would  not  hear  of  him  deserting  his 
post  at  the  Horse  Guards,  and  his  vigorous  refusal  was  delight- 
fully comic.  Knowing  all  the  ins  and  outs,  I  screamed  with 
laughter — so  magnificently  did  H.R.H.  play  our  game — and  in 
a  most  genuine  manner. 

Col.  Ewart,  R.E.,  goes  out  to  look  after  the  Lines  of  Com- 
munication and  the  Railway  at  Suakin — ^the  poor  Visionary 
R.E.  tells  me  that  he  is  very  sad. 

I  glean  from  Lord  Wolseley's  telegrams  that  he  thinks  of 
making  a  concentration  at  Korti,  as  a  prudent  move,  but 
Gen.  Brackenbury's  advance  on  Abu-Hamid  may  still  make 
the  opening  of  the  Korosko  Route  possible  and  advisable. 

The  Government  will  probably  win  in  the  coming  Division, 
and  whatever  may  have  been  the  deplorable  procrastinating 
past,  I  hardly  think  Lord  Wolseley  will  wish  to  change  masters, 
who,  if  they  are  nothing  else,  are  thoroughly  loyal  to  him  through 
thick  and  thin. 

You  will,  I  trust,  enjoy  your  visit  to  beautiful  Windsor, 
and  all  the  interest  with  which  you  will  be  surrounded. 

They  are  making  a  great  fuss  in  Parliament  about  General 
Gordon's  letters.  Would  you  tell  me  in  confidence  how  many 
original  letters  you  have  got,  with  their  dates,  and  whether  if 
Lord  Hartington  asked  to  see  them  you  would  let  him  have 
them  to  see  or  copy  ? — Yours  sincerely 

R.   H.  HOBART. 


6g  Portland  Place,  W., 

22nd  February  1885. 

Mfs,  Dearest  Lady  Wolseley, — I  have  not  much  to  tell  you, 

Goschen.  ^^^  j  think  I  will  write  and  give  you  a  general  idea  of  things 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  201 

as  they  are  here.  The  Government  are  in  low  spirits,  chiefly 
about  the  work  before  them.  Hartington  met  George  yesterday 
and  they  had  a  strong  argument,  H.  saying  George  ought  to 
turn  them  out,  and  G.  telling  him  that  the  Government  must 
and  ought  to  stay  in  to  finish  the  war.  On  the  other  side  Sir 
Stafford  is  nervous  at  the  idea  that  he  will  be  obhged  perhaps 
to  take  the  reins,  his  party  hounding  him  on,  I  hear — ^thousands 
of  letters  from  the  country  saying  that  if  this  opportunity  is  lost 
the  Tory  party  will  never  come  in  again  !  Poor  man,  the  diffi- 
culties in  his  path  cannot  be  estimated ! — Rads,  Irish,  and  some 
Liberals  would  go  in  a  formidable  body  against  the  war  and 
out  the  Tories  would  go  after  three  miserable  bickering  months, 
if  they  lived  so  long.  We  hear  Mr.  G.  is  in  a  state  ready  for 
explosion ;  the  cork  of  the  champagne  bottle  is  to  be  drawn  at 
5  o'clock  to-morrow.  What  can  he  say  ?  He  tea'd  with  Lady 
Derby  yesterday  (the  second  time  in  the  week).  He  was  talking 
of  George  Eliot's  Life.  A  man  present  said,  "  I  wonder  you  have 
time  with  your  heavy  work  just  now  to  enjoy  such  a  book.'* 
"  Oh  I  "  Mr.  G.  repUed,  "  my  work  does  not  occupy  three  hours 
in  the  day,  and  I  have  all  the  rest  for  pictures,  books,  or  an5^hing 
that  may  be  interesting  people  at  the  time  " — three  hours ! 

We  dined  at  the  Hayters'  last  night.  There  was  an  evening 
party,  but  George  said  he  could  not  stay  for  that,  he  could  not 
stand  discussing  the  present  situation  to  fine  ladies  or  stupid 
M.P.'s,  so  we  ordered  the  carriage  at  10.30  and  left.  G. 
Trevelyan  took  me  in.  We  did  not  touch  war  or  poHtics.  In 
the  end  he  got  cheerful,  but  she  was  fearfully  depressed.  I 
never  saw  a  smile  cross  her  face.  Lady  C.  Beresford  sat  next 
but  one  to  me.  Lord  Dalhousie  took  her  in.  She  made  me 
cross.  She  evidently  wished  to  set  the  Soudan  in  order,  and 
wound  up  with, "  Well,  /  think  it  is  a  great  thing  for  them  to  have 
a  practical  sailor  with  them."  Lady  Dalhousie  looked  very 
handsome,  although  in  a  kind  of  theatrical  high  dressing-gown. 
There  was  great  uneasiness  all  yesterday  about  BuUer's  column, 
and  to-day  we  get  the  good  news  that  he  has  routed  the  Arabs. 
At  II  they  were  calling,  "  Tremendous  victory,"  but  it  was 
splendidly  arranged  by  Major  Wardrop.  I  was  so  pleased  when 
George  told  me  that  Lord  Hartington 's  voice  shook  with  emotion 
reading  the  General's  telegram  about  Sir  H.  Stewart.  Every 
one  agrees  nothing  could  have  been  more  miserable  than  Mr. 
G.'s  opening  speech  in  the  House.     I  have  not  been  out  to-day. 


202    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

it  has  been  so  damp.  Lord  Acton  and  Sir  R.  Morier  dine  here ; 
the  latter  is  nearly  wild  about  the  Russian  business.  I  have 
been  writing  away  so  fast  in  case  any  one  should  interrupt  me. 
I  hope  you  are  really  resting  mind  and  body.  Did  you  drive 
down  in  that  fearful  wind  ? — Ever  yours  affectionately, 

Lucy  Goschen. 


1 885 


CHAPTER  XV 

Monday,  gth  March. — Yesterday  I  received  your  nice,  fat  Lord 
letter  of  13/2/85.  I  have  only  read  it  once  as  yet,  but  as  soon  °  ^^' 
as  this  post  leaves  I  shall  reread  it  slowly  as  a  gourmet  sips 
his  1821  sherry,  spending  as  long  as  possible  over  every  glass. 
Brett  has  been  a  friend  to  me  all  through  in  this  business, 
so  please  be  nice  to  him.  The  special  umbrella  intended  for 
me  was,  it  appears,  a  present  from  him,  and  it  has  gone 
down  in  the  El  Dorado,  recently  wrecked  at  home.  I 
assume  that  this  letter  will  reach  you  abroad.  I  have  read 
Goschen's  speech  at  Liverpool  with  great  interest.  After 
so  many  years  of  deep  humiliation  as  a  nation  it  is  refresh- 
ing to  find  the  English  people  waking  up  a  little,  and 
discarding  those  who  have  pulled  them  down  into  the  mire. 
I  cannot  help  wishing,  however,  that  our  energy  and  new 
"National  policy,"  as  Mr.  Gladstone  now  calls  it,  should  not 
be  wasted  on  such  a  wretched  place  as  the  Soudan.  Were  I 
the  despotic  ruler  of  England  I  should  be  inclined  to  put  in  the 
Turk  here,  paying  him  a  subsidy  to  rule  the  country  and  protect 
the  frontiers  of  Egypt.  I  should  prefer  spending  my  millions 
on  fortifying  my  coaling  stations  all  over  the  world,  and  in  aims 
that  would  tend  to  the  consoUdation  of  our  great  but  scattered 
Empire.  If  we  did  this  we  should  regain  ail  our  forfeited^ 
prestige,  for  it  is  the  possession  of  strength,  rather  than  the 
renown  we  can  gain  by  conquering  Arab  tribes,  that  will  make 
us  respected,  and  obtain  for  us  again  that  reputation  for  courage 
and  determination  which  a  succession  of  liberal  Ministries  have  X 
gambled  away  recklessly  and  ignorantly.  Fricke  hates  th^ 
idea  of  going  back  to  Dongola,  where  the  white  ants  devour 
the  soles  of  his  boots. 

«03 


Wolseley. 


204  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Camp  Korti,  11/3/85. 

Lord  Late  last  night,  Colonel  Grove,  now  my  Military  Secretary, 

poked  his  head  into  my  tent  with  a  lanthom  in  one  hand  and  a 
cipher  telegram  in  the  other.  The  telegram  had  fairly  beaten 
him  after  long  work  over  it.  You  will  see  the  gibberish  he 
deduced  from  it  as  he  wrote  it  on  the  telegram  as  received, 
which  you  will  find  enclosed.  I  recognised  the  L  and  deciphered 
it  easily.  Now  we  can  carry  on  a  secret  correspondence  and 
express  ourselves  about  Mr.  Gladstone.  I  thought  it  was  a 
"  straight  tip  "  about  the  Government  being  turned  out  on  war 
with  Russia  being  declared.  You  ask  me  about  the  Duchess  of 
Edinburgh.  She  has  written  me  some  very  nice  letters  since 
I  left  home,  but  I  have  not  had  the  heart  to  write  to  her  lately. 
I  must,  however,  soon  do  so.  I  do  believe  she  is  a  real  friend  of 
mine,  and  one  who  fights  many  a  battle  for  me  behind  my  back. 
As  we  seem  drifting  rapidly  into  a  war  with  Russia  our  friend- 
ship is,  however,  likely  to  be  snapped  asunder  suddenly,  for  she 
is  national  and  Russian  before  all  other  things.  I  was  much 
amused  by  your  description  of  Lady  Charles  Beresford.  She 
is  one  of  those  women  that  I  might  meet  every  day  and  yet 
have  to  ask  who  she  was  ;  her  husband  is  a  very  good  fellow, 
with  plenty  of  mother  wit,  resource,  and  pluck  :  I  am  sure  you 
would  like  him.  It  never  seems  to  have  occurred  to  Greaves 
that  he  would  not  have  been  employed  at  all  had  I  not  insisted 
upon  it.  I  wanted  to  give  him  superior  rank  and  put  him 
over  Fremantle.  The  Duke  was  angry,  of  course,  and  I  was 
then  given  my  choice  of  three  combinations,  and  I  selected 
the  present  one.  M'Neill  also  owes  his  employment  to  me, 
also  Ewart.  Dear  Greaves  is  apt  to  think  all  the  world  recog- 
nises in  him  those  good  soldier-like  qualities  that  I  do.  Whit- 
more  is,  of  course,  jealous  of  him  and  dislikes  him  as  one  of  my 
lot.  You  don't  seem  pleased  at  my  having  sent  you  a  message 
through  Brett  that  I  should  not  be  home  this  year.  I  thought 
it  best  to  give  you  the  earliest  possible  news,  so  that  you  might 
make  your  arrangements  for  the  summer  as  soon  as  the 
Government  had  determined  upon  making  a  war  here  in  the 
autumn,  which  I  know  will  prevent  my  being  at  home  until 
about  1st  April  1886.  Of  course  fifty  things  may  occur  to 
change  all  this  before  the  summer  or  next  autumn  is  over,  but 
looking  at  the  darkest  side  of  the  question,  and  assuming  that 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  205 

the  Mahdi  is  ably  advised,  I  do  not  see  my  way  to  getting  out 
of  the  Soudan  until  about  the  end  of  next  February. 

Sunday,  i^th  March  1885. — I  wish  you  could  see  the 
correspondence  that  has  been  lately  going  on  between 
Hartington  and  myself.  I  am  very  much  put  out  at  finding 
my  telegram  was  not  published  giving  my  reasons  for  retiring 
from  Goubat  upon  Korti — I  shall  take  your  very  sensible  advice 
and  will  in  future  see  that  my  reasons  are  communicated  to 
the  press  correspondents  and  so  made  public.  I  had  never 
for  a  moment  doubted  they  would  publish  my  telegram  saying 
how  the  fall  of  Khartoum  left  me  without  instructions  and  this 
army  without  a  mission  ;  that  my  force  was  intended  to  relieve 
Khartoum  but  was  not  constituted  to  take  that  place  should 
it  have  fallen  into  the  enemy's  hands  before  we  reached  it. 

I  entirely  agree  with  you  about  these  fast,  indecently 
dressed  women — they  are  simply  disgusting,  with  all  the 
filthy  ideas  of  the  poor  forlorn  creature  who  walks  at  night 
up  and  down  Regent  Street,  without  any  of  that  poor  creature's 
excuses  for  making  a  trade  with  her  body.  I  am  glad  to  say 
I  don't  speak  their  language,  and  I  am  proud  to  think  that  you 
don't  even  understand  it.  How  heartless  Gladstone  must  be  if 
he  went  to  a  burlesque  the  night  of  the  bad  news.  Streams  of 
blood  and  thousands  of  valuable  lives  being  spilt  and  lost  are 
nothing  to  him  ;  you  can  only  make  him  feel  by  loss  of  power 
and  loss  of  that  admiration  which  is  as  the  breath  he  breathes. 
I  don't  think  even  you  can  estimate  what  a  blow  the  fall  of 
Khartoum  was  to  me  :  all  my  plans  and  hopes  dashed  to 
the  ground  in  one  moment.  When  there  has  been  a  failure 
I  never  care  to  probe  and  find  out  who  was  to  blame.  I 
make  up  my  mind,  and  resolve  never  again  to  employ  him 
or  those  whom  I  know  were  the  chief  causes  of  the  failure. 
In  this  instance  Sir  C.  Wilson  seems  a  culprit,  although  I  have 
no  intention  of  making  any  charge  against  him.  I  have  had 
some  trouble  over  the  Stanley  Clarke  affair,  for  the  Prince  has 
a  better  appreciation  of  what  is  becoming  in  a  soldier  than 
Clarke  has  :  the  Prince  leaves  the  decision  to  me,  but  he 
telegraphs  saying  that  Clarke's  coming  home  may  be  misunder- 
stood. If  any  one  asks  you  about  it,  say  you  know  nothing. 
You  may,  when  not  referring  to  him,  say  that  I  told  you 
I  had  decided  that  any  officer  who  went  home  now  except 
on  the  most  emergent  private  business  would  not  be  allowed 


2o6  THE  LETTERS  OF 

to  rejoin  this  Army  again,  or  to  serve  with  any  army  in 
the  field  it  may  ever  be  my  lot  to  command.  You  ask  me 
if  there  is  any  chance  of  our  meeting  this  year  :  I  am  afraid 
there  is  none,  unless  ordered  to  go  home  to  advise  Government, 
or  for  some  other  public  reason.  I  would  sooner  frizzle  here 
in  a  furnace  than  **  scuttle  *'  away  from  my  men.  We  must 
therefore  make  up  our  minds  to  be  apart  for  another  year. 
I  shall  do  all  I  can  to  push  forward  early  in  the  autumn  and 
to  settle  all  outstanding  accounts  with  the  Mahdi  as  soon  as 
possible.  My  dif&culty  will  be  to  collect  large  quantities  of 
provisions  far  above  the  great  rapids  and  cataracts  between 
this  and  Abu  Ahmed.  It  amuses  me  very  much  when  I  read 
the  leading  articles  dwelling  upon  the  necessity  of  moving 
columns  here  and  there  as  if  I  had  merely  to  give  the  order 
for  all  such  moves.  These  idiotic  writers  forget  that  men  must 
be  fed  ;  that  for  every  looo  men  I  move  anywhere  I  have  to 
move  4000  lb.  of  stuff  as  their  food  for  one  day.  Of  course  a 
man  does  not  eat  4  lb.  a  day,  but  all  provisions  are  in  tin-lined 
cases,  so  that  1000  rations  means  4000  lb.  Thus  if  I  send  away 
1000  men  and  send  with  them  a  month's  provisions  that  means 
120,000  lb.  in  weight  (about  55  tons).  This  is  for  eatables 
alone,  besides  which,  tons  of  medical  equipment  and  stores 
and  of  ammunition  are  required.  For  desert  marches  I  have 
to  carry  water  also.  I  have  just  had  a  nice  note  from  the 
Duchess  of  Sutherland,  but  no  allusion  in  it  to  the  yacht  or  to 
Cyprus.  Please  tell  Goschen^  that  unless  he  is  made  Prime 
Minister,  which  I  should  infinitely  prefer,  I  hope  when  next 
he  takes  ofiice  he  will  go  to  the  War  Office  :  there  is  plenty  to 
be  done  there  by  a  man  of  brains  and,  above  all  things,  of 
determination.  He  is  the  man  we  all  look  to  as  best  fitted  to 
take  over  the  helm  when  it  is  torn  from  the  hands  of  that 
incompetent  old  crocodile  who  now  holds  it.  He  has  a  proper 
notion  of  what  is  due  to  us  as  a  nation  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
and  rightly  understands  our  real  strength  when  properly  used. 

Camp  Korti,  lyth  March  1885. 
Lord  I  wish  I  were  lying  back  in  a  comfortable  arm-chair  having 

Woiseiey.  ^  ^^^  ^j  y^^j.  excellent  tea — with  cream  in  it — ^and  listening  to 
your  talk.     To-morrow  I  start  about  first  streak  of  dawn  for 

1  Mr.  Goschen,  created  Viscount  Goschen,  1900;    Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  1886;  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  1890. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  207 

Abu  Dom,  which  is  about  35  miles  higher  up  the  river.  There 
I  shall  find  "  Acrass  the  Atlantic  "  (Colonel  Butler)  in  command. 
I  shall  sleep  there  to-morrow  night  and  return  here,  please  God, 
the  following  day,  Thursday,  and  then  in  three  more  days  I  shall 
have  letters  from  you  up  to  the  27th  ultimo. 

20th  March,  Friday. — I  have  been  to  Merawi,  or  rather  Abu 
Dom — ^the  last-named  place  is  where  our  troops  are  on  this,  the 
left  bank  of  the  Nile,  the  former  place  is  opposite  on  the  right 
bank.  Butler  was  very  civil  and  amusing,  more  paddy-whack 
than  ever.  He  says  his  wife's  picture  of  Tel-el-Kebir  will  be  in 
this  year's  Academy.  I  wish  some  one  would  buy  it  and  make 
me  a  present  of  it.  How  I  wish  I  could  go  to  the  private  view 
with  you  to  see  it !  You  know  how  I  love  to  see  a  battle 
picture,  whilst  you  enjoy  the  Dutch  interior  with  tiled  floor, 
dresser  filled  with  plates,  cat  on  hearth,  and  a  villainously  ugly, 
pasty-faced  woman  rocking  a  cradle.  You  like  repose,  I  like 
action.  I  had  a  telegram  to-day  from  Brett  in  which  he 
recommended  me  to  pay  attention  to  the  warning  contained 
in  Swaine's  telegram.  It  was  to  the  effect  that  Government 
would  change  its  policy  in  toto  when  General  Graham  had 
disposed  of  Osman  Digna.  I  shall  not  be  surprised,  but  I 
shall  be  extremely  disappointed  if  I  have  to  return  home 
without  retaking  IChartoum.  I  am  most  anxious  that  as  a 
nation  we  should  get  out  of  the  Soudan  altogether,  but  we 
must  get  out  of  it  with  honour,  and  we  cannot  do  that  unless 
we  go  to  Khartoum. 

I  have  Just  had  a  telegram  from  Graham  describing  his  first 
skirmish  with  the  enemy,  and  I  expect  in  a  few  days  to  hear 
of  a  real  good  stand-up  fight  there.  If  we  have  any  very  heavy 
losses,  old  Gladstone  may  begin  to  feel  frightened,  and  the 
English  people  may  weary  of  a  war  whose  ends  it  is  difficult  to 
understand.  This  is  quite  on  the  cards,  especially  now,  since 
an  mtemational  guarantee  has  been  accepted  for  the  new 
Egyptian  loan.  Although  both  Swaine  and  Brett  have  given  me 
this  solemn  warning,  the  Government  has  not  shown  any  sign 
as  yet  of  backing  out  of  the  position  it  has  taken  up.  On  the 
contrary,  all  the  demands  I  have  made  on  them  for  men  and 
material  are  being  complied  with.  I  expect  our  big  fight  will 
be  at  Berber. 

I  shall  be  anxious  to  hear  what  Swaine  told  you.  It  seems 
so  odd  to  receive  a  telegram  from  him  from  England,  as  it  seems 


2o8  THE  LETTERS  OF 

really  as  if  it  were  only  the  other  day  that  he  was  here  ciphering 
and  deciphering  my  numerous  telegrams.  How  small  railways 
and  telegraphs  have  made  the  world.  I  hope  you  received  my 
cipher  telegram,  telUng  you  to  subscribe  £ioo  (one  hundred 
pounds)  in  your  own  name  to  the  Egyptian  War  Fund — I  think 
you  gave  a  similar  amount  in  1882.  General  Taylor  (Lady 
Jane's  husband)  is  the  principal  man  on  the  Committee.  I 
wonder  if  you  read  my  telegram  easily. 

Saturday,  21st  March. — I  enclose  you  a  telegram  I  sent 
some  days  ago  to  Hartington  in  answer  to  a  very  secret  one  from 
him  about  Russia  ^  and  their  complications  generally.  I  want 
you  to  know  exactly  what  my  views  are  and  what  advice  I  give 
to  this  decaying  Cabinet  on  miUtary  matters.  My  advice  is 
most  disinterested,  because  I  counsel  peace — ^under  certain 
conditions — ^when  personally  I  have  all  to  gain  by  war.  Don't 
ever  admit  that  you  have  seen  my  telegram,  but  you  can  always 
say  that  I  keep  you  fully  informed  of  my  views  upon  all 
matters  connected  with  my  mission  here.  I  say  this  lest  the 
Government  should  give  out  that  I  advise  retreat.  I  distrust 
Gladstone  and  Co.  so  much  that  it  is  necessary  I  should  be  always 
on  my  guard.  You  have  always  imagined  I  thought  of  myself 
first,  and  advised  what  would  best  suit  my  own  career — ^never 
think  so  again. 

I  hear  that  Lord  Granville  is  very  ill.  Whenever  he  goes 
off  the  human  stage,  I  wish  whatever  Government  is  in  office 
would  give  me  Walmer  Castle.  It  would  suit  me  down  to  the 
ground,  and  I  think  you  would  like  it.  Perhaps  it  would  be 
well  to  ventilate  our  aspirations  on  this  point  at  once.  I  wondei^ 
what  it  costs  to  keep  up  ? 

I  am  very  angry  about  Stanley  Clarke.  No  one  shall  make  a 
convenience  of  the  Army  in  order  to  improve  his  position  about 
the  Court.  I  told  him  in  my  first  interview  that  any  officer  who 
appHed  to  go  home  should  never  be  allowed  to  rejoin  this  Army ; 
and  in  my  last  interview  with  him,  after  the  Prince  had  tele- 
graphed to  him  and  to  me,  I  was  bound  to  say  that  he  was  no 
longer,  with  his  many  excellent  quahties,  the  man  to  command  a 
regiment  in  the  field.  I  have  written  a  long  letter  to  the  Prince, 
who  has  been  admirable  on  the  subject. 

1  Wolseley  was  sounded  whether  the  Suakin  force  could  be  sent  to 
India.  In  reply  he  emphasised  the  folly  of  plunging  into  war  with  Russia 
when  a  matter  of  5000  men  was  apparently  a  vital  question. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  209 

Sunday,  22nd  March. — I  am  charmed  with  the  letter  you 
wrote  the  Queen  from  the  Greyhound  Inn  at  Hampton  Court 
— just  what  it  should  be  and  "not  without  dignity."  I  enclose 
the  Queen's  letter  to  me  :  it  is  indeed  very  cordial.  I  shall 
expect  you  to  be  a  lady-in-waiting  yet.  I  would,  however, 
prefer  her  giving  us  the  reversion  of  Walmer  Castle.  Croppy 
Ewart  has,  rightly  or  wrongly,  encountered  the  wrath  of  General 
Graham  with  his  cavalry  skirmish.  To-day  I  have  heard  of 
M'Neill's  first  brush,  which  in  the  unintelHgible  telegram — 
Graham's  telegrams  always  are  most  involved — reads  as  if  he 
had  been  surprised  by  the  enemy.  If  Osman  Digna  is  not 
quickly  disposed  of,  I  shall  indeed  be  very  much  disappointed 
— ^the  troops  are  good,  the  Generals  first-rate — Fremantle  alone 
is  a  dark  horse — and  the  Staff  all  the  remaining  well-known 
men  not  already  here  with  me.  You  ought  to  give  the  Queen's 
letter  to  you  to  Frances  for  the  frontispiece  of  her  autograph 
book.     She  can  never  have  a  nicer  letter  for  her  collection. 

I  leave  this  on  Tuesday,  in  an  open  boat,  for  Dongola. 
I  hate  the  idea  of  a  summer  at  that  place.  It  is  six  months  of 
the  short  time  remaining  to  me  to  live,  squandered  to  no 
purpose,  and  passed  in  squalid  misery  and  extreme  discomfort. 
I  wish  some  of  those  fine  lazy  fellows  who  at  home  criticise  our 
doings — I  wish  that  old  crocodile,  Gladstone,  could  be  con- 
demned to  spend  the  ensuing  summer  at  Dongola. 

Dongola,  Saturday,  2Sth  March  1885. 

I  am  so  glad  the  Queen  has  taken  kindly  to  you,  and  been  Lord 
nice.  If  the  Queen  should  ever  talk  to  you  about  E.  Wood,  ^^^^^^y- 
tell  her  I  like  him  as  a  friend  and  think  he  has  many  fine  and 
brilliant  soldier-like  qualities.  I  think  he  is  not  to  be  named 
alongside  of  poor  Herbert  Stewart  or  Buller  or  Greaves  or 
M'Neill.  He  is  a  very  puzzled-headed  fellow,  who  drives  all 
his  Staff  wild  from  want  of  method.  During  the  few  days  he 
was  my  Chief  of  the  Staff,  when  Buller  was  in  the  desert  after 
Stewart's  wound,  he  nearly  drove  me  mad.  His  vanity  offends 
his  equals,  and  all  the  set  of  his  own  age  will  never  forget 
the  unworthy  Convention  of  Majuba  Hill.  The  army  think  it 
was  his  bounden  duty  to  have  resigned  sooner  than  put  his 
name  to  such  a  paper.  The  Queen  is  very  fond  of  Wood,  so 
you  must  deal  tenderly  with  the  subject.  She  does  not  know 
14 


210    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

what  I  do,  namely,  that  CoUey  would  not  have  signed  the 
Convention  that  Evelyn  did ;  he  said  in  one  of  his  last  letters 
that  if  asked  to  do  an5rthing  he  thought  unworthy  he  would 
resign.  The  fact  is  that  Wood  was  inferior  to  CoUey,  and  he 
knew  it  well,  and  hence  his  dislike  to  Colley. 


1 885 


CHAPTER  XVI 

DoNGOLA,  2(^th  March. — Just  received  instructions  to  go  to   ^^r^ 
Cairo,  whence  I  shall  most  likely  go  on  to  Suakin.  °  ^  ^^' 

We  have  just  heard  the  warlike  news  that  25,000  men  under 
Roberts  were  to  march  into  Afghanistan,  and  that  many  more 
ships  were  being  commissioned  in  all  haste.  I  don't  for  a 
moment  imagine  the  Government  will  carry  out  an  advance 
upon  Khartoum  in  the  autumn  if  we  are  forced  into  a  war  with 
Russia.  I  shall,  therefore,  leave  this  to-morrow  in  great  doubt 
of  ever  returning  here.  This  is  a  sad  reflection  for  me.  I 
have  had  a  bad  time  of  it,  have  gone  through  all  the  drudgery 
of  a  hard  campaign  without  even  tasting  any  drop  of  war's 
pleasures — ^an  experience  I  have  never  had  before,  and,  pray 
God,  I  may  never  again  be  exposed  to. 

Monday,  z^th  March. — Hobart's  telegram  just  received, 
asking  me  about  your  coming  to  meet  me  at  Cairo.  I  am  torn 
by  all  sorts  of  different  wishes  and  feeUngs  by  this  message.  I 
long  to  see  you,  but  yet  my  movements  are  so  uncertain  that 
I  cannot  bear  to  think  of  your  submitting  to  all  the  miseries 
of  a  sea  voyage  and  the  heat  of  Cairo  merely  to  afford  me  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you,  perhaps  only  for  a  day  or  two.  I  hope 
you  will  come  ;  I  may  say  that  here,  for  it  cannot  influence 
your  decision,  but  I  prefer  in  my  telegram  pointing  out 
the  drawbacks,  and  then  letting  you  choose  yourself.  Hot 
as  Cairo  will  be,  and  hurried  although  your  visit  may  be,  the 
time  I  spend  with  you  will  be  a  time  of  unalloyed  pleasure. 
I  think  the  Khedive  will  probably  lend  us  the  palace  that  I  was 
in  before.     If  so,  we  shall  be  very  comfortable. 

Kasr  el  Noosa,  Cairo, 
2d>th  April  1885. 
I  leave  this  to-morrow  (Wednesday)  at  11.30  a.m.  by  rail      Lord 
for  Suez,  where  I  embark  in  a  ship  called  the  Queen,  en  route  ^^^^^^' 


212  THE  LETTERS  OF 

for  Suakin.  I  have  been  delayed  three  days  through  the 
difficulty  of  extracting  from  Hartington  any  positive  and  satis- 
factory orders.  He  would  only  deal  in  general  and  vague  terms, 
evidently  wishing  to  leave  the  initiative  to  me :  I  was  deter- 
mined not  to  act  until  I  had  been  finally  ordered  to  do  so.  At 
last  this  morning  I  obtained  a  sort  of  order  from  him  on  which 
I  have  acted ;  but,  of  course,  he  wound  up  by  saying  he  could 
not  consult  the  Cabinet  until  to-day,  but  that  after  he  had 
seen  his  colleagues  he  would  telegraph  again.  The  policy  is 
retire  everywhere,  but  not  precipitately.  I  begged  with  all 
the  earnestness  I  am  capable  of  to  have  the  troops  left  at 
least  for  the  present  on  the  Upper  Nile,  and  Baring  backed 
me  up  most  strongly,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  What  they 
are  doing  is,  therefore,  opposed  to  the  views  of  their 
military  and  diplomatic  agents  on  the  spot.  By  and  by  we 
shall  have,  whether  we  like  it  or  not,  to  reoccupy  the  positions 
we  are  now  about  to  vacate  in  order  to  put  down  Mahdis. 

I  have  been  out  of  sorts  a  little  for  the  last  few  days  : 
diarrhoea  and  a  sharp  twinge  of  my  old  enemy,  the  fever.  I 
wrote  to  the  Queen  yesterday  and  to  the  Duke  of  Cambridge 
to-day,  but  I  was  shivering  so  from  fever — ^my  teeth  chatter- 
ing— ^that  I  must  have  written  very  incoherently.  Indeed,  I 
have  no  idea  what  I  said,  beyond  having  suggested  to 
H.R.H.  that  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  I  were  sent  to  Con- 
stantinople to  treat  with  the  Sultan  for  an  offensive  and  defensive 
alliance.  It  often  happens  that  men  like  the  Sultan  will  listen  to 
a  General  when  the  voice  of  the  ordinary  cut-and-dry  diplomatic 
agent  has  no  charms  for  them.  We  now  have  no  Ambassador 
in  Constantinople.  I  had  a  levee  of  white  donkeys  to-day  (I 
often  hold  levees  of  two-legged  donkeys),  but  I  could  not  find 
one  nice  enough  for  the  Queen.  The  best — and  it  was  a  beauty 
— had  a  chip  on  its  knee.  However,  I  have  plenty  of  people 
in  the  districts  on  the  look-out  for  a  good  one,  so  you  may  depend 
on  my  fulfilUng  the  Queen's  commands  on  this  point.  I  am 
afraid,  poor  lady,  her  spell  of  holiday  has  been  broken  in  upon 
sadly  by  all  the  anxieties  and  care  and  trouble  which  the  Russian 
complication  has  involved.  Instead  of  having  a  month  of 
complete  rest  and  freedom  from  bother  at  Aix-les-Bains,  I  am 
afraid  her  stay  there  has  been  a  real  time  of  worry.  I  had  a 
most  interesting  letter  from  her  by  the  last  post  bearing  ex- 
clusively on  the  present  crisis. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  213 

I  turn  my  back  upon    Khartoum  with  a  sinking   heart, 
and,  as  I  look  back  at  the  events  of  the  last  four  months, 
my    mind  dwells  upon   one  bright  spot   only,    namely,    the 
splendid   conduct   of  the   private   soldier:    he   is    a   splendid 
fellow.     I  have  Uved  the  greater  part  of  my  life  surrounded 
by  them,  and  now  that  I  grow  old,  I  feel  as  if  they  were  my 
own  sons.    And  yet  these  are  the  men  that  the  silly  old  gentle- 
men at  home  never  cease  to  denounce  as  worthless.     Well,  I 
have  seen  more  active  fighting   service  than  any  officer  now 
doing  duty,  and  I  ought  to  be  able  to  express  an  opinion  on  this 
point  of  at  least  some  value.     I  am  not  now  speaking  at  a 
Lord    Mayor's   dinner,    but   for    your   information :  in  every 
respect    the  men   I  had  in  the  desert   lately  were    superior 
morally  and  physically  to  any  troops  I  have  ever  served  with 
before.     It  maddens  me  to  think  that  I  should  have  sent  so 
many  gallant  spirits  to  another  world  to  no  purpose.     I  always 
strive  to  collect  round  me  the  best  officers  in  the  Army,  and 
when  some  of  what  my  detractors  call  "  my  set  "  are  killed, 
their  loss  is  serious :  I  am  always  on  the  look-out  for  able  men 
to  employ  and  bring  forward,  but  I  find  very  few.     Now  that 
we   are  Ukely  to   have   a  Russian  war  on  our  hands,  who  can 
estimate  what  a  loss  to  the  nation  Sir  Herbert  Stewart  will 
be  ?     He  was  out  and  away  the  ablest  man  all  round  I  had 
here.     Redvers  Buller  in  some  respects  and  in  some  quaUties 
ran  him  close,  but,  all  round,  Buller  was  not  by  a  long  way 
Stewart's  equal.     Buller  is  far  the  best   man  we  now  have. 
His  manner  is  against  him,  but  as  a  fighting  soldier  and  an 
organising  staff  officer  he  is  Ai.     I  have  left  to  him  all  the 
details  of  the  withdrawal  from  the  Upper  Nile. 


SuAKiN,  5th  May  1885. 

I  hoped  the  sea  trip  would  have  set  me  up,  but  I  got  worse.  Lord 
To-day  I  am  much  better,  but  between  starvation  and  slop  ^^^^^^y- 
diet  and  the  weakening  effects  of  the  disease  itself,  I  feel 
"  real  mean."  I  have  recommended  the  immediate  with- 
drawal of  all  the  troops  here.  The  weather  is  so  hot  that  all 
military  operations  are  hopeless,  if  they  have  to  be  carried 
on  far  from  the  sea  ;  and,  as  Osman  Digna  is  too  clever  to 


214  THE  LETTERS  OF 

come  near  us,  it  is  useless  keeping  a  large  force  here  doing 
nothing.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Gladstone  announced  that  this  rail- 
road was  to  be  stopped,  all  ranks  lost  interest  in  the  business, 
and  a  longing  for  re-embarkation  set  in.  The  force  here  is  all 
at  sixes  and  sevens.  Graham  is  not  exactly  brilliant,  and  I 
don't  think  Greaves  is  all  he  should  be  to  him.  Greaves  has 
become  too  bumptious  for  the  Staff ;  he  should  be  given  a 
Division  under  a  strong  man  of  decided  views.  His  one  long- 
ing is  to  get  to  India,  where,  in  command  of  a  Division,  he 
will  during  peace  be  a  little  "  somebody."  The  saying  here 
is  that  every  one  is  so  inimical  to  his  neighbour  and  the  Staff 
so  divided  amongst  itself,  that  one  half  do  not  talk  to  the 
other,  and  that  Greaves  damns  them  all  equally  all  round. 
According  to  Greaves,  every  one  here  that  is  not  an  old  woman 

is  a  d d  fool,  and  he  only  is  the  wise  man.    What  curious 

creatures  some  clever  men  are  :  they  all  want  to  have  every- 
thing done  their  own  way  and  think  you  are  an  idiot — some 
do  not  hesitate  to  say  so — ^because  you  do  not  entirely  agree 
with  them.  I  have  an  idea  I  have  fallen  very  much  into 
disfavour  with  the  Government.  They  are  now  acting — 
if  they  order  me  to  carry  out  their  declared  intention  of  with- 
drawing all  the  troops  from  their  present  positions  on  the 
Upper  Nile — ^in  direct  opposition  to  the  advice  given  them 
by  myself.  Sir  E.  Baring,  General  BuUer,  Colonel  Wilson,  and 
Major  Kitchener,  to  all  of  whom  they  have  turned  for  an  ex- 
pression of  opinion.  Finding  I  would  not  help  them,  they  sent 
Balaam  to  curse  E.  Baring's  and  my  views ;  but  Balaam  has 
blessed  them  instead. 

I  saw  poor  M'Neill  yesterday  ;  he  looks  drawn  and  haggard, 
ten  years  older  at  least  since  I  last  saw  him.  Of  course  he 
is  wretched  over  all  the  abuse  he  has  encountered.  I  hope, 
for  his  sake,  we  may  go  on  with  our  operations  on  the  Nile, 
or  begin  a  war  with  Russia,  so  that  he  may  have  a  chance  of 
doing  something  to  make  these  London  clubists  stop  abusing 
him.  I  have  been  ordered  to  report  upon  the  whole  affair,  which 
I  dislike  very  much,  and  which  I  have  told  Hartington  to  be  a 
very  unwise  proceeding.  If  every  General  in  action  feels  that 
his  proceedings  may  at  any  moment  form  the  subject  of  an 
official  inquiry,  no  General  will  ever  do  anj^hing  brilliant,  for 
nothing  great  can  be  achieved  in  war  without  risk — ^war  is,  in 
fact,  a  nice  calculation  of  risks ;  but  what  General  will  risk  any- 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  215 

thing,  if  by  doing  so  he  increases  his  chance  of  being  tried  by 
court  martial  ? 

I  have  always  thought  the  Queen  should  be  told  everything, 
and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  I  have  felt  myself  justified  in 
saying  all  I  have  done  to  her  lately,  when  she  wrote  to  me  and 
invited  my  opinion. 

Thursday,  yth  May. — My  trip  ashore  did  me  a  great  deal 
of  good  yesterday.  I  inspected  several  battalions.  The  15th 
Sikhs  had  just  returned  to  camp  when  I  reached  Otao.  They 
had  been  up  all  night  marching  in  the  mountains  ;  they  are 
splendid  fellows  and  real  soldiers.  I  remarked  that  one  of  the 
native  ofi&cers  wore  an  Arab  instead  of  a  "  Regulation  "  sword. 
The  man  was  a  handsome,  well-bred-looking  fellow ;  the 
Colonel  explained  to  me  that  during  M'Neill's  fight  this  native 
ofiicer  had  cut  down  several  of  the  enemy,  and  in  cleaving  in 
two,  as  he  described  it,  his  last  opponent,  he  broke  his  own 
sword.  I  told  him  I  would  make  him  a  present  of  a  new  one, 
for  which  I  would  send  to  England  :  this  pleased  him  greatly. 
When  leaving  Cairo  I  sent  Lady  Baring  a  silver  camel  whip,  as 
a  souvenir  of  our  work  when  struggUng  to  reheve  Gordon — 
work  to  which  her  husband  had  so  effectively  contributed. 
I  enclose  her  answer. 


SuAKiN,  12th  May  1885. 
It's  blowing  so  briskly  on  deck  that  I  have  had  to  give  up  Lord 
my  pen  and  take  to  this  mauve-coloured  machine — I  cannot  ^^^^V' 
tell  you  how  diaboUcal  this  climate  is.  One  is  bathed  in  per- 
spiration in  a  moment  when  below.  I  long  to  get  away,  but 
could  not  bear  to  do  so  until  I  had  arranged  to  send  the  British 
soldiers  here.  I  am  in  trouble  with  Hartington  over  this  ;  he 
asks  me  to  hold  the  railway  here,  and  I  tell  him  it  is  silly  to 
attempt  to  do  so,  as  a  large  force  would  be  required,  and  I  object 
to  leaving  gallant  British  soldiers  to  die  here  for  party  purposes. 
I  said  the  railway  should  be  taken  up,  for  if  left  down  the  enemy 
would  convert  rails  into  spear  heads.  The  Government,  having 
spent  about  three-quarters  of  a  miUion  on  this  railway,  is 
ashamed  to  take  it  up,  and  would,  I  beheve,  prefer  soldiers  to 
perish  here  from  climate  than  face  the  ridicule  of  having  to 
remove  the  rails  just  put  down.  I  won't  be  a  party  to  the 
killing  of  any  soldiers  to  keep  a  political  party  in  office. 


2i6  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Thursday,  14th  May. — I  received  a  telegram  from  you  : 
"  Florence  sell  14  bale  donkey."  I  have  just  discovered  this  to 
mean :  "  At  Florence  till  14th.  Male  donkey."  Evidently  the 
Queen  wants  a  male  and  not  a  female  donkey.  I  shall  send 
home  the  donkey  by  Colonel  Ewart,  who,  being  an  Equerry, 
will  naturally  take  an  interest  in  any  animal  intended  for  the 
Queen.  But  surely  the  Queen  has  plenty  of  male  donkeys  in 
her  service  already.  Good-bye,  my  dearest  little  Rumtee- 
foozle. 


Cairo,  srd  June  1885. 

Lord  To-morrow,  Baring  and  I  have  to  go  from  here  to  Suez — 

^^^^y'  about  eight  hours'  journey — ^to  wave  our  hands  to  the  Duke 
of  Connaught  as  he  passes  into  the  Suez  Canal.  Owing  to 
quarantine  regulations,  we  shall  not  be  allowed  to  go  on 
board  his  vessel,  but  we  can  have  a  few  minutes'  conversa- 
.  tion,  he  standing  on  the  deck  of  his  ship,  and  I  standing  on 
the  deck  of  a  steam-tug.  Owing  to  there  being  only  one  train 
per  diem  each  way,  we  have  to  start  from  this  to-morrow  at  11 
to  sleep  in  a  nasty  little  inn  at  Suez  to-morrow  night.  The  only 
train  from  Suez  starts  early  in  the  morning,  so  I  shall  have  to 
sleep  there  Friday  night,  only  getting  back  here  late  on  Saturday 
afternoon.  The  Queen's  birthday  is  to  be  kept  on  Saturday, 
so  I  dine  with  General  Stephenson,  surrounded  by  all  the 
"  Heads  of  Departments."  You  can  remember  what  they 
were  like  in^anada :  they  are  always  exactly  the  same,  rather 
slovenly  looking  civiHans  dressed  up  as  soldiers.  The  table 
will  be  crowded,  the  rooms  hot,  and  the  attendance  bad. 
Evelyn  Wood  has  returned  here  to-day,  aged  and  very  much 
pulled  down.  He  could  not  stand  for  more  than  a  few  minutes. 
I  am  grieved  to  see  him  looking  so  ill.  I  wanted  him  to  go 
home  by  this  post.  But  he  has  the  remains  of  some  furniture 
here  and  wants  to  dispose  of  it  before  he  starts.  I  have  advised 
him  to  go  home  by  sea  round  Gibraltar.  I  dined  the  other  night 
with  Zohrab  Bey.  Madame  very  pleasant  and  very  natural. 
What  a  difference  between  French  and  English  women  of  her 
genus.  She  sang  opera-bouffe  all  the  evening  and  the  time 
passed  away  quickly.      The  great  amusement  of  the  evening 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  217 

was  Charlie  Beresford's  attempts  to  say  anything  in  French. 
I  did  not  think  there  was  an  educated  Englishman  so  entirely 
ignorant  of  every  language  but  his  own  as  he  is. 


Cairo,  Tuesday,  gth  June  1885. 

We  have  all  been  flabbergasted  by  the  defeat  of  the  Govern-  Lord 
ment  yesterday,  and  I  have,  within  the  last  few  minutes,  received  ^^^*^^* 
a  telegram  from  Hartington  saying  that,  owing  to  the  upset  of 
the  Government,  he  can  give  me  no  orders  as  to  my  own  move- 
ments or  the  movement  of  the  Guards.  He  does  not  mind  my 
giving  leave  to  any  officer  of  my  Staff  whom  I  may  not  require 
here  any  longer.  This  is  very  provoking,  as  I  had  looked 
forward  with  such  confidence  to  getting  away  this  week  that  I 
had  not  even  begun  a  letter  to  you — ^now  it  is  quite  possible  I 
may  be  here  for  another  week  or  fortnight  whilst  the  new  people 
are  settling  down  to  their  work.  Curiously  enough  the  Renter 
in  the  morning  said  the  Government  had  had  a  majority  of 
twelve,  and  it  was  only  this  afternoon  that  I  learnt  that  on 
this  *'  beer "  question  the  Government  had  actually  been 
defeated.  Of  course  what  most  interests  me  is,  who  is  to  be 
Minister  of  War — my  dread  is  that  Hicks  Beach  might  be  made 
it.  He  is  so  full  of  his  own  imagined  importance  that  I  am 
not  sure  if  it  would  be  possible  to  serve  with  him.  This  is  the 
third  time  that  my  departure  from  a  foreign  or  colonial  station 
for  England  after  the  end  of  a  war  will  have  been  marked  by 
the  defeat  of  the  Ministry  under  whom  I  had  been  serving. 
The  post  brought  me  a  letter  from  Lord  Spencer,  in  which  he 
offered  me  the  star  and  ribbon  of  St.  Patrick.  The  incoming 
Government  must  confirm  this,  so  in  future  I  shall  have  K.P. 
written  after  my  name.^  For  your  sake  I  should  have  preferred 
being  made  a  Viscount. 


Cairo,  Saturday,  i^th  June  1885. 

I  had  a  letter  from  the  Queen,  who  had  evidently  no  notion      Lord 
whatever  that  her  "  faithful  Ministry  "  were  about  to  be  kicked  '^^°^^^^ 
out  ignominiously.  I  presume  the  whole  thing  was  a  Radical  plot, 
Mr.  Chamberlain  being  the  Guy  Fawkes  upon  the  occasion.   The__V 
Queen  being  at  Balmoral,  the  time  required  to  form  a  Ministry  is    \ 

*  Lord  Wolseley  was  created  a  Viscount  on  his  return  to  England. 


2i8  THE  LETTERS  OF 

largely  increased ;  every  one  expecting  office  is  thinking  only  of 
himself,  and  in  this  clash  of  discordant  cries  from  d5dng  Ministers, 
the  shouts  of  triumph  of  the  successful  candidates  for  office,  and 
the  moans  and  wailings  of  the  lately  hopeful  but  then  despairing 
and  disappointed  aspirants,  all  such  small  matters  as  the 
detention  of  the  Guards  and  of  myself  in  Egypt  are  entirely 
forgotten.  The  man  selected  for  the  War  Office  has  to  think 
of  meeting  his  constituents  and  of  re-election  on  assuming  office, 
and  although  he  may  not  have  a  contest  before  him,  still  he 
has  to  compose  an  address,  and  go  down  to  the  country  to  see 
and  be  seen  by  the  chawbacons  and  greengrocers,  who,  for  that 
day  at  least,  are  his  masters. 

Here,  therefore,  I  may  be  left  for  another  week  or  fortnight, 
kicking  my  heels  about  doing  nothing.  I  have  a  regular  innings 
with  a  new  edition  of  The  Soldier's  Pocket-Book,  and  I  shall  be 
ready  for  a  new  edition  by  the  time  I  reach  London.  This  gives 
me  occupation  and  amuses  me. 

Admiral  Sir  Wm.  Hewett  and  Greaves  are  with  me. 
Greaves  is  bent  on  going  back  to  India ;  there  he  is 
somebody,  whilst  at  home,  as  he  complains,  the  fine  Club 
gentlemen,  who  cow-tow  to  him  on  active  service,  pass  him 
in  the  street  as  if  they  had  never  before  set  eyes  on  him. 
He  cares  nothing  for  the  Pyramids  and  Sphinx,  nor  for  all  these 
lovely  ruins  of  the  tombs  of  the  Caliphs,  and  the  mosques  and 
bazaars  are  an  abomination  to  him.  If,  however,  you  talk  to 
him  about  shooting  a  few  snipe  or  quail,  he  is  all  excitement. 
How  much  a  man  so  constituted  loses  in  enjoyment  1  You 
and  I  love  old  and  artistic  things  and  could  find  interests  in 
any  country  without  the  silly  amusement  of  killing  little  birds. 


Cairo,  21s/  June  1885. 

Lord  The   Guards  are  still   kept   here  and,  except   the  Camel 

Woiseiey^  Regiment,  all  the  other  battaHons  that  are  now  coming  down 
country,  and  that  were  to  have  gone  home  or  to  Mediterranean 
stations,  are  to  be  detained  in  Egypt  until  further  orders.  It  is 
difficult  to  account  for  this  unless  it  be  from  a  fear  of  France, 
who  has  just  sent  a  fleet  to  Alexandria,  and  who  is  bringing 
home  some  10,000  men  from  Tonquin,  through  the  Suez  Canal, 
which  might  be  used  against  our  position  in  Egypt.    The  affairs 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  219 

of  England  are  in  such  a  muddle  at  home,  and  all  over  the 
world,  that  a  powerful  Dictator  is  required  to  set  her  right.  I 
have  to-day  had  a  telegram  from  the  Queen  saying  she  greatly 
admires  the  donkey,  and  asking  how  I  am.  I  infer  from  the 
question  some  busybody  has  been  telling  her  I  am  unwell. 

The  Government  have  determined  to  give  some  rewards  for 
both  the  Nile  and  Suakin  columns,  and  I  have  been  preparing 
lists.  The  Suakin  people  deserve  little,  and  will  get  little,  but 
I  hope  that  many  of  the  Nile  will  get  a  good  shove  ahead. 
Greaves  will  be  made  a  K.C.B. — ^also  BuUer ;  but  there  are  some 
like  Evelyn  Wood  and  Graham  who  are  already  K.C.B.  that  can- 
not be  rewarded  as  they  have  not  earned  a  G.C.B.,  although 
the  decoration  has  just  been  so  prostituted  that  it  is  difficult  to 
say  that  any  man  has  not  earned  it.  I  hope  the  soldiers — ^the 
privates — ^will  each  receive  a  good  round  sum.  I  have  proposed 
that  for  every  day  a  man  was  at  Suakin,  or  up  the  Nile,  south 
of  Assuan,  he  should  receive  double  pay.  In  this  way  those 
who  had  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day  longest  would 
receive  the  most.  The  more  I  see  of  the  British  soldier,  the 
fonder  I  become  of  him.  He  is  a  splendid  fellow.  Only  fancy 
dear  old  W.  H.  Smith  War  Minister  if  the  Conservatives  come 
into  office  !  I  shall  be  curious  to  learn  from  him  during  my 
first  interview  with  him  whether  he  means  to  be  a  reformer, 
or  to  throw  in  his  lot  with  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  and  become 
reactionary.  If  he  means  to  adopt  the  latter  policy,  he  must 
look  out  for  a  new  Adjutant -General. 

The  Times,  in  a  leading  article  on  my  dispatches,  said  there 
was  no  previous  instance  of  a  General  Officer  Commanding 
in  the  Field  addressing  his  Gk)vemment  in  such  terms.  I 
hope  the  Queen  saw  them,  for  even  some  of  my  bitter  enemies 
have  written  to  congratulate  me  on  the  straightforward  manner 
in  which  I  put  the  case  before  the  Ministers. 

Cairo,  28th  June  1885. 

A  change  has  come  over  our  fortunes  since  my  letter  to  you      Lord 
of  last  Wednesday.     Then  I  expected  hourly  to  receive  orders   ^°^^^^^- 
to  go  home,  now  I  have  no  idea  when  any  such  orders  are 
likely  to  reach  me.     Last  Thursday  I  received  a  very  flattering 
telegram  from  Lord  Salisbury  saying  the  Government  had  just 
accepted  the  Seals  of  Office,  and  he  hastened  to  express  to  me 


220    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

their  entire  confidence  in  me  and  their  sympathy  in  my  difficult 
task.  In  a  few  lines  more  nice  things  were  said  than  in  all  the 
volumes  of  letters,  public  and  private,  I  have  had  from  the  late 
Ministry.  It  is  a  proof  that  Salisbury  understands  weak  human 
nature,  and  the  various  fine  springs  and  influences  which  act 
upon  men,  causing  them  to  follow  some  leaders  and  refuse  to 
move  an  inch  for  those  of  the  cold-blooded,  lymphatic,  jelly- 
fish, invertebrate  temperaments  who  don't  feel  themselves  and 
don't  understand  those  who  do.  Well,  this  was  followed  up  by 
a  request  that  I  should  state  plainly  and  fully  my  own  views  of 
our  position  here,  and  what  I  would  recommend  should  be 
done.  I  was  asked  how  far  the  Retreat  from  Dongola  had 
been  carried  out,  and  was  told  I  might  send  Guards  to  Cyprus. 
Here  is  a  complete  volte-face.  1  have  told  them  my  views 
are  still  the  same,  an  autumn  campaign  towards  Khartoum  ; 
unless  the  Mahdi  were  smashed  he  would  be  a  threat  to 
Egypt.  Last  night  back  comes  the  answer  that  my  proposals 
will  be  considered  by  Cabinet  next  Wednesday ;  in  the  mean- 
time I  was  to  hold  on  to  Dongola.  I  fancy  what  will  be 
done  is  that  we  shall  send  back  troops  to  hold  Dongola.  It  is 
now  held  by  a  small  rear-guard  of  all  three  arms  under  Colonel 
Brackenbury,  which  was  to  have  left  it  to-morrow.  By  the 
30th  everything  was  to  have  been  north  of  Fatmeh  (where 
dear  Maurice  commands).  Now  I  have  stopped  everything 
along  the  line.  I  am  sending  the  Guards  to  Troados  in  Cyprus. 
How  they  will  hate  spending  the  London  season  on  those  lonely 
mountains  !  Our  retreat  from  Dongola  has  been  so  effectively 
carried  out  that  its  reoccupation  in  force  is  a  new  departure 
and  would  be  almost  like  a  new  expedition. 

You  will  be  sorry  to  hear  that  my  eyes  have  troubled  me 
very  much  lately.  I  have  passed  almost  the  whole  of  the  last 
three  days  in  a  dark  room  :  rather  trying,  walking  up  and 
down  like  a  caged  lion.  I  have  just  now  opened  my  windows, 
it  being  nearly  seven  o'clock  p.m.,  to  write  this  ;  but  I  don't 
want  to  strain  my  sight,  so  I  shall  not  write  you  a  long  letter 
this  time.  Charlie  Beresford  heard  from  his  wife  last  night, 
that  no  decision  as  to  my  leaving  would  be  come  to  for  another 
fortnight.  I  presume  she  heard  this  from  dear  old  W.  H. 
Smith.  I  have  asked  Sir  Ralph  Thompson  to  tell  you  all  he 
can,  adding  that,  wonder  of  wonders,  you  were  to  be  trusted 
to  keep  to  yourself  anything  you  were  told  in  confidence. 


i885 

[On  2nd  July  Lord  Wolseley  received  the  i&nal  word  of  the 
Government  that,  much  as  they  regretted  it,  Dongola  must  be 
evacuated.  He  was  asked  to  fix  a  point  for  railhead  south  of 
Wady  Haifa,  and  was  then  invited  to  return  as  soon  as  possible 
to  reserve  his  place  as  Adjutant-General.  In  the  spring  Lady 
Wolseley  had  travelled  to  Egypt  and  stayed  for  three  weeks  in 
Cairo  with  Lord  Wolseley.] 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Alexandria  to  Brindisi. 

*'  Tanjore,"  Saturday,  lo  a.m., 

not  so  very  far  from  Brindisi, 

I  am  sitting  up  in  my  berth  writing  this.  We  have  had  Lady 
such  a  good  voyage.  The  first  day  was  rather  swingy  and  I  ^^^^^y* 
stayed  in  bed ;  most  of  the  ladies  were  sick,  and  Frances  was  a 
little  ;  I  was  not.  Yesterday  was  very  calm,  and  the  Captain's 
eloquence  was  so  great  that  I  went  on  deck  and  stayed  there 
all  day  long.  But  oh  !  how  sick  one  does  get  of  a  ship.  Noth- 
ing to  look  at  and  nothing  to  do.  The  days  seem  to  have  forty- 
eight  or  eighty-four  hours.  Mr.  VilHers  has  let  me  look  at  lis 
sketch-book,  with  one  or  two  sketches  of  you  in  it.  We  get  to 
Brindisi  at  about  12  or  i  to-night.  The  Captain  is  most  anxious 
I  should  go  on  to  Venice  with  him,  but  wild  horses  would  not 
get  me  an  extra  yard  by  sea.  Even  if  it  continued  smooth  as 
glass,  it  is  such  utter  waste  of  time  to  be  on  board  ship.  One 
can  look  out  of  a  railway  window  and  see  the  habits  of  the 
natives,  but  here  nothing. 

I  cannot  help  thinking  of  you  and  your  hateful  task  of 
getting  out  of  Egypt.  I  wonder  what  has  happened  during  our 
three  days  at  sea,  and  if  I  shall  find  any  telegram  from  you  at 


222  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Hotel  Bruno,  Bologna,  telling  me  that  you  are  already  en  route 
to  England  !  Frances  has  found  some  children  to  play  with 
on  board.  I  had  a  duel  d  mort  with  their  father,  who  sleeps  in 
the  cabin  next  to  me.  He  snored  fearfully,  and  I  reduced  him 
to  absolute  silence  by  rapping  on  the  crown  of  his  head — as  I 
beUeved  it  to  be  placed — ^with  the  heel  of  my  slipper  the  first 
night.  He  has  never  attempted  it  again.  I  wish  I  had  been 
jollier  and  not  seedy  when  I  was  with  you.  Frances'  dear 
love. 


Hotel  Bruno,  Bologna,  2gfh  April  1885. 

Lady  I  seem  to  hold  to  your  doings  now  by  the   very  sUght 

WoiseUy*  thread  of  ItaUan  newspapers.  I  see  Gladstone  has  got  his  vote 
for  eleven  miUions,  and  according  to  the  papers  here  it  is 
expressly  declared  not  to  be  for  Soudan  but  for  Afghan. 
That  seems  to  me  a  much  more  explicit  sentence  than  the 
"  Signor  Glatstone  "  is  ever  likely  to  have  been  betrayed  into. 
We  are  "  doing  "  this  town  most  conscientiously,  and  we  sally 
out  in  a  way  that  would  drive  you  mad,  /  with  Murray's  and 
Frances  with  Cook's  guide  under  our  arms.  I  wish  you  were 
here  to  be  driven  mad !  It  is  a  town  of  arcades  and  palaces  and 
churches.  Yesterday  we  went  to  the  Academia  delle  belle  Arti, 
and  saw  some  fine  Guidos,  Caraccis,  and  *'Francia."  F.  is  a 
charming  little  companion,  so  thoroughly  interested.  She  likes 
the  pictures  much,  and  we  sat  comfortably  for  an  hour  and  a  half 
in  the  Gallery,  moving  our  chairs  with  us  as  we  went.  The 
famous  Raphael  of  **  St.  Cecilia  "  I  did  not  care  a  bit  about. 
Of  course  T.  fell  in  with  a  maid  whose  mistress  knows  me  !  and 
the  mistress  has  persecuted  me  rather,  but  fortunately  leaves 
for  Vienna  to-day.  She  is  sister  to  the  first  wife  of  Lord 
Dudley,  the  one  with  the  romantic  and  tragic  history.  We  once 
took  a  housemaid  from  her,  and  since  then  she  has  elected  to 
know  me.  Last  night  we  went  to  the  Opera.  It  was  the  benefit 
of  a  certain  "  Lena  Ceme,"  a  soprano  who  sang  excellently,  as 
did  a  bass  and  a  baritone.  The  tenor  was  wretched.  The  orchestra 
very  good.  You  would  have  died  at  the  length  between  the 
acts.  Our  seats  were  3s.  4d.  There  is  an  open-air  play  at  a 
place  called  the  "  Arena  del  Sole  "  (arena  of  the  Sun)  which  I 
am  dying  to  go  to,  at  two  in  the  afternoon,  but  it  is  rainy  to-day, 
so  we  cannot.     My  Httle  plans  so  far  as  I  have  made  them  may 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  223 

at  any  time  be  knocked  into  a  cocked  hat  by  a  telegram  from  you. 
You  will  know  about  my  dates  of  return  to  this  hotel,  and  that 
may  help  you  to  communicate  with  me,  but  I  shall  inquire  for 
Poste  Restantes  at  Florence  and  Venice  and  even  Verona. 

I  see  in  Monday's  Times — 27th — ^that  you  started  for  Suakin 
yesterday  in  the  Queen.  I  shall  therefore  address  this  letter 
to  you  there.  I  trust  it  may  reach  you.  Frances  is  writing 
to  you,  too.  We  are,  I  think,  going  to  hear  Norma  to-night. 
We  are  having  fine  times  while  you  are  grilling  in  those  terrible 
deserts. 

Many  kisses  on  the  back  of  your  dear  little  head. 

Hotel  del  Arno,  Florence, 
•L^th  May  1885. 

We  are  still,  you  see,  at  this  enchanting  place.  I  had  Lady 
intended  only  staying  a  week,  but  it  seemed  quite  fooUsh  to  ^°^^^^' 
leave,  having  come  so  far,  without  half  seeing  pictures,  galleries, 
churches,  and  so  here  we  are  stlQ  and  shall,  I  think,  remain 
till  the  2 1st,  and  then  go  straight  to  Venice.  Frances  is  wild 
to  get  to  Venice.  She  is  very  much  interested  here,  but 
afraid  that  prolonging  our  stay  here  may  do  her  out  of 
Venice,  as  we  expect  and  hope  any  day  now  to  hear  of  your 
return.  However,  I  tell  her  you  can't  jump  from  Cairo  to 
Brindisi  in  12  hours  and  we  can  from  here  to  Venice,  and  should 
still  be  able  to  pick  you  up  as  you  hurry  on,  at  Turin  or  else- 
where. I  am  keeping  Hopkins  informed  of  my  changes,  so 
letters  will  always  reach  me.  Florence  is  so  dehghtful, 
although  our  weather  the  last  two  days  has  been  deplorable. 
Rain  in  torrents,  and  the  old  Arno  to-day,  instead  of  being  a 
sleepy,  green  river,  is  a  roaring,  chocolate-coloured  torrent.  I 
wrote  to  you  on  Friday  to  Cairo.  The  papers  explain 
that  you  were  to  leave  Suakin  last  Saturday,  9th,  for  Cairo, 
but  I  cannot  make  out  that  you  did  leave  then.  I  got  your 
letter  of  28th  April  before  I  sent  off  my  last,  and  told 
you  how  grieved  I  was  to  think  of  my  Uttle  greyhead  being  ill 
and  feverish  and  with  so  much  to  worry  and  annoy  him.  I  am 
sure  it  was  the  worry  and  annoyance  that  made  you  ill,  and  the 
feeling  of  humiliation.  I  sent  off  your  letter  to  the  Queen,  as  I 
thought  from  its  nature  and  from  your  saying  it  might  be  shown 
to  friends  it  was  probably  intended  for  her  eye.    I  have  not  got  it 


224  THE  LETTERS  OF 

back  yet.  When  I  do  I  shall  probably  administer  it  to  Lady 
Arthur  Russell.  She  is  most  jubilant  at  war  with  Russia  being 
averted,  and  says  that  she  knows  you  spoke  and  wrote  against  an 
Afghan  War.  //  you  did  it  must  have  been  under  very  different 
circumstances.  I  will  send  you  the  bit  of  her  letter  on  that 
subject.  I  think  it  would  be  friendly  and  wise  if  you  wrote 
to  her  and  frankly  expressed  your  Egyptian  views,  your  utter 
humihation,  and  so  forth.  It  would  reach  a  good  many  of 
the  party  through  her.  I  am  disgusted  with  Lord  Hartington's 
announcement  in  Parhament  that  "  after  consultation  with 
Lord  Wolseley  "  it  is  decided  to  withdraw  the  troops.  What 
dupUcity !  Creating  the  impression  that  the  decision  was 
with  your  advice  when  it  is  exactly  against  it.  I  hope  you 
will  vindicate  yourself  publicly.  Oddly  enough  I  have  never 
had  any  answer  to  the  two  letters  I  wrote  to  Grifi&ths  and 
Lawson.  They  went  in  the  bag  from  Cairo  that  started  with 
me.  Last  Saturday  we  went  out  to  the  "  Villa  Cedri "  to  see 
the  Tecks.  It  is  a  charming  villa ;  the  property  of  Major  and 
Miss  Leith.  The  Duke  received  us.  He  is  altered  and  has  lost 
some  of  his  good  looks,  but  the  girl  is  getting  very  pretty. 
After  some  httle  time  the  Duke  went  away,  and  after  five  minutes 
we  all  heard,  and  tried  to  appear  not  to  hear,  a  storm  of  words. 
I  thought  some  fearful  calamity  had  happened.  The  Duchess 
said,  "  I  am  afraid  it  is  Francis,  May ;  go  and  see.''  The  girl 
came  back  saying,  in  a  rather  weary  voice,  as  if  it  were  an  habitual 
scene,  "  Yes,  it  is  papa  about  the  carriage."  The  culprit  came 
back  soon  after  (the  Duchess  having  also  gone  out  and  joined 
the  melee)  quite  amiable  and  only  fulminating,  amidst  delightful 
smiles,  against  servants  generally,  adding,  "  I  lost  my  temper ; 
it  is  true  I  lose  it  easily."  Then  we  all  had  tea  in  the  garden. 
They  were  all  so  simple  and  natural  and  kind  that  we  quite 
enjoyed  our  visit.  She  was  very  amusing  on  politics,  saying 
Granville  required  five  backbones,  he  was  so  weak. 

We  went  on  Sunday  with  the  Webbs  to  lunch  at  a  villa  near 
Florence  belonging  to  a  Marchese  della  Stufa  and  inhabited 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ross.  Ouida  has  described  them  all  in  her 
spiteful,  clever  novel  Friendship,  and  it  was  very  amusing  to 
see  them,  as  I  know  the  book  well.  "  Delia  Stufa  "  is  a  very 
gentlemanly  ItaUan,  Chamberlain  to  the  King  and  a  great  friend 
of  Mrs.  Webb,  whom  he  calls  Barbara.  The  Ross's  have  hved 
with  him  for  fifteen  years,  which  is  the  ''fond  "  of  Ouida 's  spite, 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  225 

as  she  is  madly  in  love  with  him.  They  have  collected  some 
nice  things.  There  we  met  an  old  Mr.  Wells,  father  to  Lady 
Musgrave  (now  Mrs.  Henry  Brougham),  and  next  day  we  had 
tea  with  him  to  meet  Princess  Mary.  All  these  people  collect 
more  or  less  and  know  all  the  curiosity  shops.  Also  at  the 
Ross's  we  met  Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder,  who  has  a  house  here 
with  extremely  good  things  very  well  chosen.  Charming 
embroideries  and  old  books  with  good  bindings.  I  have  pur- 
chased two  or  three  old  book  bindings — empty — and  old  leather 
boxes  and  cases  which  you  will,  I  think,  Uke.  It  is  quite  a  new 
field  for  one,  and  one  I  think  I  shall  pursue.  We  lunch  to-morrow 
with  Sir  T.  Lauder  and  then  meet  the  Tecks  and  a  party  they 
have  got  up  for  a  tea  picnic  to  Fiesole.  I  hope  it  will  be  fine, 
as  I  want  to  see  Fiesole,  but  I  accepted  the  Lauder  lunch  at  any 
rate,  as  it  is  instructive  to  see  his  things.  He  seems  a  discriminat- 
ing buyer  and  thinks  Florence  an  excellent  market.  It  has 
streamed  with  rain  for  two  days  and  the  picnic  has  been  put  off 
once  already.  To-day's  telegrams  say  that  the  troops  are  to  be 
withdrawn  "  subito  "  from  Suakin.  I  am  sure  Lord  Hartington 
announces  that  while  you  are  there  to  give  the  impression  it  is 
also  by  your  advice.  I  am  curious  to  hear  from  you  the  fate 
of  a  telegram  I  tried  to  send  you  from  here  on  my  arrival : 
"  Florence  till  14.  Male  donkey."  I  sent  it,  paid  for  it,  and 
after  three  days  was  told  you  had  "  refused  to  accept  it,  as  you  did 
not  know  the  sender."  There  was  no  redress,  though  I  guessed 
it  must  have  reached  you  in  some  most  garbled  form.  The 
**  male  donkey  "  meant  that  H.M.  had  written  me  that  she  must 
have  a  male  one,  not  a  female,  and  I  feared  you  might  conclude 
the  purchase  of  a  female  one.  I  have  had  a  long  letter  from 
Colonel  Swaine,  who  is  furious  at  the  Government  having  made 
you  their  tool  to  threaten  and  promise  in  Egypt  what  they  never 
intended  to  carry  out. 

To-day  we  spent  half  in  the  Pitti  Palace  and  half  in  curiosity 
shops.  How  I  wish  you  had  been  with  us  !  The  Pitti  pictures 
are  lovely !  I  found  a  portrait  of  Marlborough  by  Van  der  Were, 
and  bought  a  photo — very  bad  one — of  it,  thinking,  as  it  was 
possibly  done  in  Flanders,  it  might  make  a  nice  frontispiece  to 
your  book.  You  see  we  think  of  you  as  we  potter  about  !  I 
must  end,  as  I  mistrust  the  ItaUan  post  too  much  to  give  a 
letter  less  than  two  days  from  Florence  to  Brindisi,  where  it  will 
leave  on  Monday  morning.  How  I  wonder  when  I  shall  see 
15 


226  THE  LETTERS  OF 

you.     I  shall  return  to  Hill  Street  when  you  do,  having  had 
such  a  nice  Uttle  bit  of  Italy. 


Grand  Hotel,  Venice,  22nd  May  1885. 

Lady  To-day  I  received  your  Suakin  letter  of  the  5th  inst.     I  can 

Woiseiey,  ^^^  ^^  .^  ^^^  ^^^^  poor,  sweet  temper  continues  to  be  riled  and 
ruffled  by  the  odious  Government  Brutes  ;  don't  let  us  think  of 
them,  and  yet  one  must  think  and  even  write  of  them.  I  am  sure 
you  must  have  been  made  more  angry  than  ever  by  that  disin- 
genuous phrase  in  Lord  H.'s  speech,  saying  that  "  after  consulting 
with  Lord  W.  the  Government  had  decided  on  withdrawing  the 
troops."  I  sent  your  letter — Cairo,  28th  April — ^to  the  Queen 
I  read  between  the  lines  of  it  that  you  intended  it  for  her  eye. 
She  returned  it  to  me  and  wrote  to  me  with  it,  thanking  me 
extremely  for  sending  it,  and  saying  no  one  '*  except  Beatrice 
had  seen  it,  who  is  as  reticent  as  any  one  can  be."  In  her  letter 
she  begged  me  to  telegraph  to  you,  **  Only  way  to  get  anything 
done  is  to  say  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  military  reasons," 
which  I  did,  in  cipher.  I  hope  it  will  have  reached  you.  I  am 
surprised  to  find  by  your  letter  of  5th  May  that  the  date  of 
your  return  home  was  still  unfixed.  For  several  reasons  I 
should  Uke  to  know  when  you  will  be  back,  and  so  to-day  I 
plucked  up  spirit  and  wrote  to  Lord  Hartington  and  asked 
him  if  he  could  tell  me.  I  don't  consider  him  such  a  "  great 
panjandrum  "  that  I  need  approach  him  through  Hobart,  and 
Hobart  knows  little  and  tells  one  less.  I  wrote  Lord  H.  the 
shortest  possible  note,  and  put  "  private  "  on  it,  so  I  don't 
think  he  can  be  so  rude  as  to  make  Hobart  answer. 

I  was  sorry  to  leave  Florence.  It  is  a  fascinating  place ;  you 
and  I  never  took  any  drives  in  the  neighbourhood.  We  had 
no  time,  and  the  weather  was  cold.  Frances  and  I  went  for 
the  views,  which  are  most  lovely.  I  went  through  every 
curiosity  shop  I  could  find,  and  have  gone  in  for  an  entirely 
new  line — old  book  bindings  and  leather  cases.  Sir  J  Thomas 
Lauder  started  me  on  this,  and  took  us  to  several  very  good 
shops.  I  bought  some  modem  china,  made  at  a  manufactory 
"Canta  Galle,"  and  rather  nice  I  hope  you  will  think.  Our 
Teck  picnic  to  Fiesole  was  very  pleasant.  We  started  in 
seven  or  eight  fiacres,  "  did  "  a  few  churches  on  the  way,  and 
finally  had  tea  at   a  deUghtful  Medici  villa,  which  had  been 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  227 

inhabited  by  Lady  Orford  in  Sir  Horace  Mann's  time.  The 
view,  too,  was  magnificent.  We  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Preston, 
Lady  Desart's  father  and  mother.  She  is  a  descendant  of 
Mme  de  Genlis'  "  Pamela,*'  who  married  Lord  E.  Fitzgerald. 
See  how  we  move  amongst  history.  I  do  so  enjoy  being 
abroad,  if  only  I  could  think  of  you  away  from  Egypt  !  I 
don't  know  how  I  shall  return  to  dinners  and  card-leaving 
and  two  footmen  after  Bohemianising.  It  will  break  it  to  me 
if  you  really  keep  to  your  intention  of  taking  a  country  holiday. 
F.  works  me  very  hard  sight -seeing.  She  is  indefatigable,  and 
reads  all  Ruskin  says  and  all  everybody  said  about  everything 
without  missing  a  word,  and  always  knows  which  is  the  east — 
and  west,  eh  !  Venice  looks  so  pretty.  I  went  out  yesterday 
a  little,  but  to-day  I  have  stayed  in  the  whole  day  writing,  I  had 
got  into  such  dreadful  arrears.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  wind  up  with 
a  letter  to  you.  I  have  answered  by  this  mail  a  letter  I  had 
lately  from  Sir  E.  Wood.  His  letter  was  full  of  sympathy  at 
"  fortune  having  forsaken  you  !  "  which  I  thought  very  un- 
called for,  and  took  no  notice  of  in  my  reply.  Mrs.  Grant  tells 
me  of  her  Sidney  G.  in  Bechuanaland.  A  native  king  and  his 
Master  of  the  Horse,  Don  Pedro,  came  to  see  him.  He  enter- 
tained them  with  tea,  brass  watch-chains,  and  paper  cocked 
hats.  They  sat  on.  He  then  gave  them  some  Eno's  Fruit 
Salt !  They  still  remained,  and  he  gave  Don  Pedro  three  Cockles* 
pills.  The  next  day  the  King  came  again  and  asked  for  some 
more  Fruit  Salt.  Sidney  inquired  for  Don  P. ;  the  King  said  he 
had  not  been  well — stomachache,  but  they  never  seemed  to 
connect  it  with  the  pills. 

I  am  doubtful  about  hurrying  through  the  Lakes,  unless 
Lord  H.  says  you  are  Ukely  to  be  away  some  time  longer.  If 
he  says  you  will  soon  return,  I  shall  go  from  here  to  Verona  for 
a  night,  Milan  for  a  day  or  two,  and  then  straight  to  Fontaine- 
bleau  and  stay  there  till  you  get  near  Paris,  have  a  couple  of 
days  in  Paris,  and  go  home  with  you  from  there. 


FONTAINEBLEAU,  2^th  Jufie  1885. 

I  am  sending  you  a  book  by  this  mail  which  you  will,  I  think.     Lady 
like.    I  have  found  it  dehghtful  reading  (Hommes  et  Dieux,  by  St.   ^°^^^^y- 
Victor).     If  you  have  other  books  on  hand  lend  it  to  Colonel 
Grove.     I  think  the  subjects  will  interest  you  and  the  style  is 


228  THE  LETTERS  OF 

beyond  praise.  I  have  read  some  articles  two  and  three  times 
for  the  pleasure  of  the  words  alone.  The  finish  of  the  writing  is 
like  a  fine  piece  of  Louis  xvi.  chasing  or  enamelling,  and  yet  it 
is  forcible,  manly,  full  of  striking  pictures.  Read  "  La  Momie," 
and  tell  me  if  even  with  Egypt  at  hand  it  does  not  vivify  the 
subject  to  you.  I  have  marked  the  articles  I  preferred.  I 
only  flagged  at  one  or  two  of  the  mythological  ones,  simply 
because  I  can't  care  about  their  old  gods  and  goddesses.  Be 
sure  you  read  "Charles  II.  of  Spain."  After  his  death  you  will 
arrive  at  a  certain  Philip  v.  (who  was  Due  d'Anjou),  and  whom 
you  must  interest  yourself  in,  as  I  have  got  an  old  and  charm- 
ingly bound  book  which  veritably  belonged  to  him  ! 

The  book  craze  is  raging  fiercely  still ;  in  fact,  fiercer  and 
fiercer,  with  Frances  and  me.  We  got  at  Milan  a  book  thickly 
powdered  over  with  L.'s,  crowns,  fleurs-de-lis,  and  a  coat  of 
arms  and  Royal  crown  in  the  middle.  We  hoped  it  had  be- 
longed to  a  King  of  France,  but  feared  while  we  hoped.  Here 
at  Fontainebleau  we  have  had  our  most  daring  hopes  confirmed 
by  arms  and  ciphers  we  have  seen  in  the  Chateau,  and  it  cer- 
tainly belonged  to  Louis  xiii.  !  !  date  and  all  (1602)  confirm  it. 
Now  never  say  that  I  come  abroad  for  nothing.  We  have  also 
a  book  with  H.  and  fleurs-de-lis  (not  a  Royal  crown)  which  be- 
longed to  Henri  (de  Bourbon),  second  Prince  de  Conde,  father  oi 
great  Conde.  I  wish  it  could  have  belonged  to  the  great  Conde  ! 
This  book  mania  has  great  historical  advantages,  and  is  an 
excellent  educational  agent — one  gets  so  keen  and  sharp  and 
interested  about  dates.  There  are  in  the  Library  of  the  Chateau 
here,  in  a  glass  case,  some  interesting  bindings  from  fourteenth  to 
sixteenth  centuries,  French,  ItaHan,  and  even  one  English,  and 
we  have  improved  our  knowledge  by  examining  them.  Dear 
Mr.  James  has  told  me  of  the  "  Mazarin "  and  "  National " 
Library  in  Paris  where  we  can  also  see  interesting  historical 
bindings,  and  I  have  no  doubt  the  British  Museum  has  some  too. 
These  we  can  all  three  enjoy  together,  for  I  am  sure  you  will  Uke 
them  as  much  as  we  do. 

Thank  goodness  the  races  here  are  over.  They  made  no 
difference  to  us,  except  that  it  was  an  excuse  for  high  prices 
and  difliculty  about  flies  to  drive  in  the  forest.  I  wish  you 
could  see  and  hear  our  old  landlady ;  she  is  a  hippopotamus  of 
ugUness  and  the  most  specious,  lying,  flattering,  intimidating, 
fascinating  old  cheat  I  ever  met.     I  began  by  hating  her  and 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  229 

now  quite  like  her.  Her  first  token  of  favour  to  me  was  taking 
us  over  the  apartment  she  was  preparing  "  pour  une  Princesse 
Russe."  *'  Venez  done  voir  Madame,  comme  elle  sera  bien  (she 
has  the  whole  ground  floor,  looking  into  a  little  garden  and  under 
our  rooms)  voici  son  salon,  voici  sa  chambre  a  coucher,  et  la 
chambre  du  petit  prince  Alexandre  a  cot^.  Son  pere  vient 
aussi,  je  ne  sais  plus  son  nom  mais  c'est  un  personage  !  "  Then 
we  were  shown  the  Princess's  salon  d'ete  most  ingeniously  made 
out  of  the  recess  of  a  porte  cochere,  draped  and  roofed  Uke  a  tent 
with  red  turkey  twiU,  and  with  looking-glasses  to  reflect  the 
garden.  She  must  stifle  in  it,  as  there  is  no  current  of  air  and 
no  light  either  but  what  it  gets  from  the  garden.  We  were  on  tip- 
toe of  excitement  when  all  her  things  began  to  arrive — boxes  on 
boxes,  screens,  palms,  and  at  last  a  Japanese  umbrella  which 
rather  broke  the  charm  and  brought  a  Mayfair  element  into 
the  matter.  Then  her  two  men  arrived,  and  a  fat,  well-shaved 
poodle,  and  a  maid  and  a  nurse  and  Le  Prince  Alexandre,  aged 
five,  in  a  rather  spurious  sailor  costume  good  enough  for  the 
Russian  navy,  I  dare  say,  but  not  for  ours.  Then  she  came 
herself  (in  red  cretonne  to  match  her  salon  d'ete),  rather 
powdered  and  pinched.  Truman,  with  the  usual  brutality  of 
the  EngUsh  maid,  reported  herself  as  saying  to  the  Russian's 
maid  next  day,  "  Your  lady  paint  ?  "  and  was  told  in  very 
broken  EngUsh,  "  Plenty  powder,  no  paint."  I  trembled  as  I 
hstened,  it  seemed  the  last  touch  to  the  strained  relations 
between  England  and  Russia.  Next  day  when  Frances  went 
to  swing  in  the  garden — of  which  we  and  the  Princess  both  have 
the  jouissance — ^the  Princess  attacked  her  with  most  friendly 
overtures,  asked  her  to  come  and  help  arrange  her  furniture, 
asked  her  if  I  was  a  widow,  where  my  husband  was,  if  we  had 
come  down  for  the  races,  if  her  stockings  were  bought  in 
London  or  Paris,  if  the  dye  did  not  come  off  on  her  legs  .  .  . 
all  in  five  minutes.  /  have  kept  her  at  bay  by  the  utmost 
austerity  of  manner,  but  it  is  difi&cult,  and  the  "  delimitation 
of  the  Russian  and  English  frontier  "  (of  the  garden)  is  played 
as  actively  here  as  in  Downing  Street.  The  poodle,  whom  we 
call  Komaroff,  is  her  well-trained  assistant,  and  barks  to  let 
her  know  we  are  near,  and  the  boy  even  is  used  as  a  lure  and 
sent  to  fetch  his  doll,  which  he  is  supposed  to  think  I  am 
sitting  on. 

My  letter  must  go  off.     I  am  in  great   hopes  now  it  may 


230  THE  LETTERS  OF 

cross  you  on  the  road.  I  will  confess  to  you  what  I  did  on 
getting  your  sad  little  letter  of  12th  June.  I  wrote  to  the 
Queen  (I  enclose  the  brouillon  of  my  letter,  I  have  not  time 
to  copy  it) .  I  feared  she  might  think  me  a  Lady  Wood  ;  but 
with  the  greatest  kindness  she  sent  me,  evidently  the  moment 
she  got  my  letter,  the  following  telegram  :  "  Have  received  your 
letter  and  will  see  to  it  at  once."  Is  it  not  very  good  of  her  ? 
This  will  explain  a  telegram  I  sent  you  through  Hop.  It  will 
go  to  you  to-morrow. 

I  hope  that  in  a  very  short  time  I  may  hear  you  are  sum- 
moned home.  And  if  you  are  allowed  to  come  home  through 
the  Queen,  I  shall  be  proud  to  think  I  am  the  mouse  who  nibbled 
the  lion's  ropes. 

H6tel  Vouillmont, 

Rue  Boissy  d'Anglais,  Paris, 

yth  July  (1885). 

Lady  My  Dearest, — It  is  delightful  to  think  of  your  having 

Woiseiey.  j^g^^j  ^  j^j^g^  healthful  day  at  sea — ^which  you  don't  mind 
— ^and  several  more  to  follow.  Frances  and  I  are  on  tiptoe 
thinking  of  Monday  and  our  meeting  at  Calais.  We  leave 
Paris  at  7.40  !  I  got  your  telegram  to-day  saying  you  would 
arrive  at  Calais  at  noon.  You  wiU  get  there,  therefore,  before 
us,  I  think. 

I  want  you  to  telegraph  to  me  at  once  {from  Venice), 
whether  we  go  to  Victoria  Station  or  Charing  Cross,  and  the 
exact  hour  our  train  will  arrive  there.  Several  people  wish 
to  know.  Do  not  omit  to  do  this.  I  shall  not  engage  a  private 
cabin,  so  perhaps  you  will  do  this  for  me.  I  do  not  do  it,  as 
you  are  such  a  grand  seigneur  they  are  sure  to  keep  one  for 
you.  I  trust  we  shall  have  a  good  passage.  We  are  also  longing 
to  know  if  Countess  Pisani  falls  upon  you  at  Venice.  I  beheve 
she  will,  with  a  laurel  wreath  to  put  round  your  hat  !  I  should 
have  been  wretched  about  your  eyes  if  you  had  had  to  stay  on. 
Good-bye,  no  more  till  we  meet. 

6  Hill  Street,  W., 
2yth  November  1885.    Midnight  ! 

Lady  I    am    killed    with    cooks,    ordering    and    eating    them ! 

Woiseiey.  Volunteer  No.  2  is  pretty  promising,  but  quails  stuffed  with 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  231 

foie  gras  are  not  wholesome,  are  they  ?  Best  left  for  one's 
friends,  the  .  .  .  and  the  .  .  .  one  meets  with  through  Ufe. 

I  called  on  Lady  .     She  is  enraptured  with  **  the  " 

engagement.  What  will  she  throw  soon  at  her  daughter-in- 
law's  head  ?  She  says  the  "  traditions  of  the  two  famihes  are 
so  identical,"  and  a  good  many  such  phrases.  She  is  an  old 
Poseuse.  Your  "  Isabella  "  ^  asked  me  to  lunch  on  Sunday  to 
meet  "  Lady  A."  2  and  such  kindred  spirits,  but  catch  me  going  ! 
I  prefer  even  tasting  the  cook  at  home.  Give  me  every  parti- 
cular of  your  coronation,^  and  don't  bend  the  knee,  no,  not  even 
the  joints  of  your  finger,  to  the  white-blooded  C.'s  *  or  "  never 
more  be  officer  of  mine.** 

^  Dowager  Countess  of  Wilton. 

«  Maria,  Marchioness  of  Ailesbury.  ■  Investiture  as  K.P. 

*  Camarvons.     Lord  Carnarvon  was  then  Lord-Lieutenant  in  Ireland. 


I 886- I 889 

[Lord  Wolseley,  on  his  return  from  Egypt,  resumed  his  post  as 
Adjutant-General,  which  he  continued  to  hold  until  the  autumn 
of  1890.  In  January  1886  he  represented  the  Queen  at  the 
Royal  Jubilee  of  the  Emperor  William  i.] 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

British  Embassy,  Berlin, 
Sunday  Morning,  $rd  January  1886. 

Lord  My  first   1886  is  on  this  sheet  of  note-paper.      May  God 

oseey.  -^-^ess  US  both  during  the  coming  year!  I  did  not  get  here 
last  night  until  about  8.30  p.m.,  and  found  the  faithful  Swaine 
awaiting  me  on  the  platform,  and  His  Excellency  waiting  dinner 
for  me  here.  Lady  Erm5mtrude  is  still  in  England,  being, 
I  believe,  in  rather  poor  health.  Bismarck  has  expressed  a 
wish  to  see  me,  so  I  am  to  call  on  him  to-morrow  :  this  is  a 
great  comphment,  for  he  sees  very  few  people.  Swaine  has 
been  years  here  and  has  never  been  introduced  to  him.  I 
shall  therefore  have  something  to  tell  you  when  we  meet. 
The  only  time  I  have  ever  seen  Bismarck  was  on  our  honeymoon, 
when  you  and  I  stared  at  him  out  of  the  hotel  window  in 
Brussels  as  he  drove  past  with  the  then  Kings  of  Belgium 
and  of  Prussia.  This  embassy  is  a  fine  house,  palatial  in  its 
proportions  and  stately  in  its  marble  staircase,  halls,  etc.  Origin- 
ally built  by  a  rich  Jew  for  his  private  residence,  it  has  been 
bought  by  us  for  an  embassy.  Amongst  the  papers  I  gave 
you,  I  left  an  invitation  from  an  Admiral,  Sir  Somebody  Some- 
thing, which  I  would  accept  if  you  have  no  engagement — ^for  the 
19th,  I  think  it  was.  I  write  this  at  my  usual  hour  of  6  a.m., 
the  excellent  Fricke  being  busy  making  up  a  great  fire.  I  am 
somewhat  "  out  "  in  my  sleeping  calculations,  as  I  have  put  in 
so  much  good  sound  sleep  on  the  journey  that  I  feel  as  if  I 
could  do  without  any  more  for  days  to  come. 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY    233 


British  Embassy,  Berlin, 
Sunday  Evening,  January  1886. 

At  II  a.m.  I  reached  the  Schloss  in  a  state  carriage,  coach-  fr  Lord 
man  in  wig,  two  footmen,  and  all  in  cocked  hats  ;  very  grand  ;  °^^^^* 
I  might  have  been  a  Lord  Mayor.  Malet  was  the  owner  of 
the  coach  ;  he  and  Swaine  were  in  it  with  me,  or,  as  he  is  the 
Ambassador,  I  should  say  he  took  me  with  him.  At  the  top 
of  the  Schloss  there  is  a  small  but  very  handsome  church 
(in  the  style  of  St.  Paul's),  where  assembled  all  the  Court  and 
all  the  Ambassadors  and  men  like  myself  who  were  the  bearers 
of  letters  to  the  Emperor.  Some  fine  music  began  as  the  doors 
were  thrown  open,  and  the  old  Emperor,  with  the  Empress 
leaning  on  him,  entered.  They  seemed  too  old  to  be  aUve  ; 
they  walked  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  she  using  a  stick  in 
her  right  hand  ;  there  was  much  difficulty  in  getting  her  into 
her  chair,  from  which  she  never  rose  during  the  service.  We 
had  a  sermon  possibly  eloquent,  though  I  did  not  understand 
what  was  said.  Then  the  Emperor  and  Empress  went  out,  bowing 
to  all  the  people  near  them,  to  take  up  their  position  in  a  throne 
room,  where  she  was  seated,  the  Emperor  standing  up ;  we  all 
filed  past  him.  He  was  very  gracious  to  me,  shook  hands  and 
paid  some  compliments.  The  Empress  followed  suit.  When 
Bismarck  came  into  the  church  he  walked  up  to  Malet  (who 
was  sitting  just  in  front  of  me  talking  to  the  Turkish  Am- 
bassador) and  began  a  poUte  sentence  as  to  how  glad  he  was  to 
make  his  acquaintance ;  he  had  mistaken  the  Ambassador  for 
me.  He  was  very  nice,  but  oh,  what  a  wreck  he  seemed  to 
be  !  He  told  me  he  had  been  suffering  lately  from  rheumatism 
and  lumbago,  and  I  believe  that  he  has  been  reducing  himself 
in  obedience  to  some  well-known  doctor  here.  His  clothes 
hung  about  him  as  if  he  were  a  scarecrow.  When  we  all 
"  marched  past  "  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  Bismarck  went 
first,  and  it  was  curious  to  see  the  old  Emperor  Idss  him  on  both 
cheeks  and  then  to  see  Bismarck  kiss  the  Emperor  first  on  one 
cheek,  then  on  the  other.  The  King  and  the  King-maker.  It 
was  then  intimated  to  Sir  E.  Malet  that  the  Emperor  wished 
to  confer  the  Grand  Cross  of  the  Red  Eagle  upon  me  if  the 
Queen  would  permit  it.  Telegrams  had  to  be  sent  to  Lord 
Sahsbury,  and  the  result  is  a  telegram  that  Her  Majesty  con- 


234  THE  LETTERS  OF 

sents  :  at  the  same  moment  I  receive  a  telegram  from  the  Queen 
saying  she  trusts  all  has  gone  off  well  to-day. 

After  I  got  away  from  the  Palace  I  went  a  round  of  visits 
as  far  as  my  few  cards  would  allow.  Dinner  by  the  Emperor's 
invitation  at  the  Schloss  at  5  o'clock — only  five  ladies  and,  I 
suppose,  eighty  men.  I  had  one  of  the  five,  a  very  good-looking 
Mile  Parpourlier,  a  maid  of  honour — I  found  her  dull,  how- 
ever ;  her  sister  is  married  to  Lord  Forester — at  least  so  she 
said.  Her  mother  is  "La  Grande  Maitresse,"  and  such  a 
funny-looking  old  piece  of  goods  with  a  wild  wig,  the  like  of 
which  can  scarcely  have  been  seen  outside  a  farce.  The  Em- 
peror did  not  appear  himself,  so  the  honours  were  done  for  him 
by  the  Lord  Chamberlain.  At  the  Levee  in  the  morning  were 
the  Crown  Prince  and  Princess.  She  was  dressed  in  a  lilac 
velvet  gown  and  looked  remarkably  well.  What  a  very  good 
figure  she  has  for  a  woman  who  has  already  several  grand- 
children !  She  sent  to  say  she  wished  to  see  the  officers  who 
had  brought  letters  in  her  own  palace  when  the  ceremony  was 
over.  She  talked  to  all,  and  both  she  and  her  husband 
did  their  parts  to  perfection.  She  asked  me  to  luncheon 
to-morrow  ;  to  come  in  plain  clothes.  I  asked  at  what  hour. 
She  said,  "  At  half -past  twelve,  if  you  can  eat  at  that  hour." 
Her  eldest  son  and  his  wife  are  hidden  away,  having  the  measles. 
Her  daughter  is  madly  in  love  with  Prince  Alexander  of  Bulgaria, 
and  he  wants  to  marry  her.  The  Princess  Royal  is,  I  hear, 
quite  agreeable  to  the  arrangement,  but  in  this  instance 
Bismarck  acts  the  part  of  the  cruel  and  designing  parent,  and 
will  not  hear  of  such  a  marriage.  Herbert  Bismarck  is  now 
head  of  the  Foreign  Office  here,  and  is  evidently  intended  to 
succeed  his  father.  He  has  settled  down  to  his  work  and  does 
not  make  the  row  he  used  after  dinner.  I  presume  he  drinks 
less.  Madame  de  Perpignac  seems  to  have  taken  quite  a  new 
lease  of  youth,  and  is  quite  pretty.  I  only  had  a  moment's 
conversation  with  her  when  going  into  the  church  this  morning, 
but  I  hope  to  see  her  perhaps  to-morrow  when  I  lunch  with  the 
Crown  Prince.  After  our  State  dinner,  which  took  place  in  a 
lovely  corridor  of  the  old  Schloss — ^the  handsomest  palace 
inside  which  I  have  ever  been — ^we  posted  off  to  the  opera, 
where  there  was  one  act  of  some,  to  me  at  least,  unheard-of 
opera — ^the  music  uninteresting,  the  singing  stale,  if  not  a  httle 
cracked,  and  the  ballet  dull  and  meaningless.     The  Emperor 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  235 

and  Empress  both  there,  and,  I  need  scarcely  say,  very 
well  received.  I  missed  a  national  hymn,  however — before 
such  occasions,  or  anything  resembling  them,  *'  God  save  the 
Queen,"  played  at  the  right  moment  and  sung  from  the  stage 
with  the  audience  joining  in  the  chorus,  is  most  impressive. 
The  King  [of  Saxony]  and  his  wife  were  in  a  box  opposite  mine, 
and  both  seemed  to  enjoy  the  entertainment.  I  confess  I 
thought  their  presence  at  their  time  of  life  a  Httle  out  of  place  : 
two  very  old  and  infirm  people  (he  at  least  full  of  religion), 
as  it  were,  with  one  foot  in  the  grave,  looking  on  at  men  and 
women  howUng  in  a  "  spectacle,"  and  interested  apparently 
in  the  legs  and  half  nude  bodies  of  a  lot  of  dancing  women — 
it  seemed  to  me  a  little  out  of  keeping.  After  the  opera,  supper 
with  the  Crown  Princess's  Master  of  the  Household.  He  speaks 
English  fluently ;  he  has  been  a  good  deal  in  China,  Japan,  and 
Constantinople,  and  has  very  nice  things  in  his  house,  collected 
in  various  parts  of  the  world — especially  some  cabinets  from 
Spain.  He  married  an  EngHshwoman,  or  rather  a  lady  half 
English  and  half  East  Indian,  and  is  now  a  widower.  His  half- 
caste  sister-in-law  keeps  house  for  him  and  does  the  honours  ; 
she  is  decidedly  Indian  in  features  and  in  colour,  but  strange  to 
say,  considering  the  prejudice  against  "  Eurasians  "  in  India, 
is  married  to  a  Mr.  Something  who  is  a  Judge  in  that  country. 
There  we  had  a  dozen  or  fifteen  people,  the  stars  being  the 
hereditary  Prince  and  Princess  of  Saxe- Weimar,  nephew  and 
niece  to  our  Prince  Edward  of  that  ilk.  This  prosy  Uttle  prince 
would  buttonhole  me  to  explain  to  him  why  it  was  we  always 
fought  in  square  in  the  Soudan.  His  knowledge  of  our 
Army  may  be  gauged  by  the  fact  that  he  would  not  listen  to 
my  disclaimer  that  EngUsh  officers  were  not  allowed  to  carry 
umbrellas  in  full  uniform  ;  he  said  that  if  we  did  not  permit 
the  practice  now,  he  knew  for  a  certainty  that  the  custom  was 
very  general  some  years  ago,  perhaps  before  I  entered  the 
Army.  ...  If  anything  could  tire  me,  all  this  would  have  done 
so.  I  was  glad  to  sit  down  in  the  quiet  of  this  room  to  scribble 
to  my  little  wife,  if  not  tired,  very  much  bored  by  my  day's 
work — I  cannot  call  it  entertainment.  Bismarck,  who  speaks 
good  EngHsh,  said  to  me,  when  referring  to  his  lumbago, 
"  However,  after  a  man  passes  seventy,  he  must  receive  every 
extra  year's  existence  as  a  free  gift  from  God  and  be 
thankful  accordingly."     I  have  to  see  him  to-morrow  after- 


236  THE  LETTERS  OF 

noon  by  appointment.  We  dine  with  the  Emperor  in  his  own 
apartments  to-morrow.  The  Princess  Royal  yesterday  asked 
particularly  after  you  and  why  you  had  not  come ;  how 
you  were,  etc.  When  bidding  me  good-bye,  she  hoped  I 
would  again  visit  Berlin,  and  that  when  I  came  again  she 
expected  me  to  bring  you  with  me.  I  like  her  so  much  ;  she 
is  very  clever  and  very  open.  I  dine  with  Malet  to  meet 
Von  Moltke  and  other  great  Generals  on  Tuesday. 

Friday  Morning,  6  a.m. 

Lord  I  paid  a  visit  to  Clarence  House  yesterday  evening,  to  find 

Woiseiey.  ^^iq  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  about  to  dress  for  an  early 
dinner  at  7  o'clock  to  go  to  hear  Sarah  Bernhardt  at 
8  o'clock.  She  asked  me  to  go  with  them,  to  which  I  gladly 
agreed.  Our  outside  party  consisted  of  Lady  Kilmorey, 
Bertie  Mitford,^  and  the  Russian  Secretary,  with  a  bald  head  and 
a  small  quantity  of  red  hair  on  each  side  of  it,  whose  name  I 
forget.  Kilmorey  was  away  making  speeches  in  the  country. 
My  Lady  K.  is  very  agreeable — ^tall  and  very  effective-looking. 
La  Dame  aux  Camelias  was  the  piece,  and  Sarah  was  wonderful 
in  it,  and  at  times  quite  fascinating-looking.  But  oh,  what  a 
play  !  Why  do  men  and  women  revel  in  a  representation  of 
vice,  with  all  its  more  degrading  surroundings  ? 

21/4/86. 

Lord  I  have  just  come  in  from  a  canter  in  the  park,  and  I  am 

Woiseiey.  j^^^  ^^  over,  showing  me  that  I  am  in  wretched  condition  for 
work  ;  I  must  try  and  get  myself  in  better  wind  or  else  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  run  away  fast  enough  from  the  battle  of 
Armageddon.  Last  night  I  dined  at  Clarence  House,  from 
which  I  drove  Duke  of  Connaught  home  to  Buckingham 
Palace,  as  he  was  going  to  walk.  He  has  now  postponed 
going  to  India  until  September  ;  it  would  have  been  wrong 
to  take  the  Duchess  there  in  May  or  June.  We  played  whist 
and  made  small  jokes.  The  Duchess  of  Edinburgh,  as  usual, 
W£Ls  very  friendly,  but  I  never  can  find  out  any  Russian  political 
news  from  her.  I  believe  the  Russian  officers  who  went  to 
India  for  our  manoeuvres  behaved  abominably,  and  were 
plotting  against  us  all  the  time  ;  but  those  are  points  on  which 
^  Afterwards  Lord  Redesdale. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  237 

she  will  never  touch.  She  will  descant  upon  the  past  history 
of  Russia,  which  she  knows  most  intimately,  and  you  may  talk 
of  the  madness  of  Paul,  of  his  being  assassinated  in  secret, 
or  of  the  sensuality  of  Catherine,  but  on  contemporary  history 
she  is  silent.  I  once  told  her  in  a  letter  that  if  Russia  went  to 
war  with  us  it  would  end  in  the  disruption  of  Russia,  but 
she  never  remarked  upon  it.  I  am  glad  to  tell  you  that 
Gladstone  has  no  chance  of  passing  his  BiUs.  He  may  become 
discredited  with  the  English  people,  and  if  he  does,  great  will 
be  his  fall,  for  the  political  world  is  fickleness  itself.  .  .  .  With 
him  would  pass  Granville,  Spencer,  Childers,  Ripon,  Kimberley,  ^^ 
and  Harcourt.     Which  of  them  will  reappear  in  history  ?  ^"^ 

You  ask  me  about  Lord  Shaftesbury's  death.  All  I  heard 
was  that,  for  some  time  back,  he  had  a  strange  idea  that  he 
was  utterly  ruined.  He  heard  he  had  overdrawn  £3000  at 
his  bankers,  and  he  was  always  imagining  they  would  arrest 
him.  The  bankers  were  produced  to  assure  him  that  he  might 
overdraw  £30,000  if  he  liked,  and  this  reassured  him  for  some 
time.  Mrs.  Gladstone,  I  am  told,  the  other  day  went  to  see 
Sir  Andrew  Clark  ;i  the  servant  who  opened  the  door  said 
she  must  wait,  as  Sir  A.  was  engaged  with  a  gentleman.  She 
said  it  is  preposterous  that  she  should  wait  for  any  one  when  the 
health  of  the  Prime  Minister  was  in  question,  so  she  pushed 
past  the  footman,  opened  the  doctor's  door,  and  boldly  entered, 
to  find  Sir  Andrew  kneeling  beside  a  man,  examining  him  all 
over.  The  patient  had  his  shirt  rolled  up  so  that  his  face 
could  not  be  seen,  but  he  retained  his  gaiters  on  his  legs,  and 
Mrs.  Gladstone  declared  she  recognised  the  Bishop  of  London. 

On  the  13th  of  May  I  have  to  go  to  Nottingham  with  H.R.H. 
to  inspect  yeomanry  ;  that  evening  we  sleep  at  Shrewsbury, 
inspect  the  Salop  Yeomanry  the  following  day,  and  return  to 
London.  Last  night  at  Sir  C.  Trevelyan's  I  sat  most  of  the 
evening  with  kind  Lady  WiUiam  Compton.  The  husband  is, 
alas  !    a  sad  radical,  anxious  to  pull  everything  down. 

Rake  House,  Thursday  (1886). 

My  Dearest, — I  got  this  telegram  from  Lady just      Lady 

now  ! — ^written   after    a  late   breakfast    "  a   la   fourchette   et   ^^fa^/o'' 
au  petit  verre  "  {;not  "  de  Vin  "),  I  should  think.     She  evidently 
1  A  great  physician  of  the  day. 


238  THE  LETTERS  OF 

confuses  your  doings  with  mine.  You  see  even  the  Times  of 
yesterday  names  you  amongst  the  possible  Irelanders.  If  you 
are  asked,  I  conjure  you  to  go,  if  you  are  given  enough  power. 
It  seems  to  me  such  a  splendid  opportunity  of  stepping  on  from 
soldiery  to  statesmanship.  Of  course  I  would  not  have  you 
go  to  do  the  monkey-and-chestnut  business. 

I  have  carefully  read  Marlborough'^  and  made  corrections, 
I  think  it  very  interesting  and  very  well  told.  I  see  you  have 
got  rid  of  a  little  dash  of  Tilda -ishness  you  had  in  the  beginning. 
BulTNe  must  pull  down  Arabella's  petticoats  more.  That  scene 
must  be  toned  down.  As  it  stands  it  has  a  decided  Fanny- 
Dilke  flavour  which  it  pains  me  to  find  from  your  lordship's 
pen.  What  a  spotless  lamb  Dilke  was  up  to  Monday,  and  what 
a  monster  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  make  him  again  ;  appar- 
ently it  is  of  quite  a  questionable  morality  to  have  one's  bed 
made  twice  a  day. 

I  have  got  "  Good  Queen  Anne  "  for  you. 

Rose  Cottage,  Easebourne,  Midhurst, 
2J.st  April  1886. 

Lady  You  are  not  engaged  for  the  29th  of  May  and  can  engage 

Woiseiey,  yourself  if  you  like,  but  let  me  remark  that  a  Saturday  in  May 
is  too  good  for  the  Grocers — ^you  will  be  very  sorry,  I  am  sure, 
if  you  accept.  I  thought  you  had  done  all  your  City  dinners  in 
the  winter.  Tell  me  when  you  write  next  if  you  have  accepted 
them  or  not.  I  have  heard  again  from  Sir  J.  M'Neill  hoping 
we  will  go  to  Canada.  He  sails  on  the  29th.  Is  it  out  of  the 
question  that  we  should  go  ?  I  am  quite  sure  it  would  do  you 
a  great  deal  of  good,  and  we  should  enjoy  it.  You  could  always 
get  back  in  time  to  command  the  Irish  Army  !  Tell  me  about 
this. 

Rose  Cottage,  Easebourne, 
22nd  April  1886. 

Lady  Even  the  Academy  tickets  don't  tempt  me  to  stay  in  town, 

Woiseiey.  ^^  please  give  them  away.     We  reappear  in  London  for  good  on 

May  the  5th  to  dine  with  the  CharHe  Beresfords.      I  wish  the 

1  Lord  Woiseiey  was  never  able  to  complete  his  Life  of  Marlborough, 
but  left  copious  MS.  It  is  probable  that  if  at  any  time  leisure  is  granted, 
Mr.  Winston  Churchill  will  make  good  the  story. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  239 

measles  were  not  here  !  but  it  is  silly  to  go  away  on  that 
account.  I  might  sit  down  next  to  the  small-pox  elsewhere.  I 
wonder  where  you  dine  to-night  ?  Fancy  Connaught  honouring 
our  hirehng  brougham.  I  trust  the  grey  will  hold  her  head 
higher.  I  am  deep  in  the  Life  of  Washington  and  think  him 
quite  like  you.  Braddock  was  seemingly  a  regular  red-taper, 
after  your  Duke's  heart,  and  a  nice  mess  he  made  of  it.  I  have 
read  Jesse  Colhngs,  and  am  going  to  attack  Lord  Clare's  speech  of 
1800  this  afternoon.  When  I  get  away  from  notes,  cards,  and  calls 
I  become  quite  interested  in  pubhc  matters  and  almost  intelligent. 
An  occasional  French  novel  serves  as  a  sort  of  green  food. 

Our  landlady  is  such  a  good  old  soul.  She  is  quite  ignorant 
of  your  fame,  and  still  says  to  Truman,  **  And  what  do  you  say 
the  lady's  name  is  ?  " 

I  am  glad  you  enjoy  your  solitary  pillow  and  your  liberty 
snore  !  /  thoroughly  enjoy  mine  and  sleep  like  twenty  little  fat 
tops.  There,  sir,  so  much  for  your  ungracious  reflection  of 
enjoyment  at  my  absence  ! 


Rose  Cottage,  Easebourne,  Midhurst, 
Thursday. 

My  Dearest, — ^What  a  woman  your  correspondent  must      Lady 
be  !     A  dreadful,  illiterate,  impractical  gusher.     Frances  has  ^^^^^^y- 
read  B.'s  letters  and  judges  her  to  be  a  "sort  of  Pisani" 
very  justly  ! 

Tell  me,  please,  of  last  night's  dinner,  all  its  features:  the 
noble  hostess's  postiche  ("la  chose  dont  nous  ne  parlons  pas," 
Laimay),  her  poses  as  well  as  her  postiche,  and  if  her  food  was 
good,  and  her  guests  more  natural  than  herself.  Then  let  me 
reproach  you  for  having  turned  a  neighbour  on  me  by  giving 
her  my  address.  She  wants  to  come  over,  but  I  won't  have  her. 
I  am  going  to  say  I  have  refused  others  and  can't  have  her. 
Please  never  say  where  I  am,  as  I  don't  want  to  have  visitors — 
say  "  in  Sussex,  somewhere  about  Petersfield,  but  moving 
about."  Fancy  your  going  to  the  Aldershot  Races  !  I  really 
believe  without  my  restraining  hand  you  would  be  in  every 

ballroom  and  on  every  racecourse.     Lady is  not  at  all  a 

person  I  should  wish  you  to  know.  We  had  another  lovely 
drive  yesterday.  Tommy,  the  pony,  dragged  us  round  heavy, 
sandy  lanes,  all  ups  and  downs — four  hours  for  five  shillings  ! 


240  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  revel  in  the  price,  but,  as  we  walk  up  and  down  most  of  the 
hills,  I  can  reconcile  this  to  my  strong  feeling  for  animals.  From 
what  Frances  tells  me  the  new  girl  whom  you  accepted  for  the 
*'  debate  " — ^Miss  Clifton — is  eighteen.  If  she  comes,  and  a  third 
Brooke — eighteen  also,  I  believe — and  the  Peels,  you  will  have 
nineteen  girls  or  more.  Don't  you  think  that  too  many,  and 
should  not  the  original  rule  be  kept  to — not  to  have  them 
younger  than  twelve  and  over  seventeen  ?  Frances  begs  you 
to  decide. 

Rose  Cottage,  Easebourne,  Midhurst, 
Saturday. 

Lady  Your  letter  was  rather  boo-hooish,  and  I  fancied  you  hiding 

oiseiey.  ^^^^  j^^^^  .^  ^-^^  pillow  !  You  do  not  say  a  word  about  the 
pain  or  whether  it  is  better.  /  hope  so.  We  get  on  very  well 
in  our  miniature  house.  The  stairs  are  like  a  companion 
ladder,  and  the  old  woman  has  a  real  ladder  up  from  the 
kitchen  which  debouches  by  a  trap-door  on  the  bedroom 
landing  (the  landing  being  the  size  of  a  tea-tray) ;  and 
the  first  time  Truman  saw  her  rising,  candle  in  hand,  through 
the  floor  outside  her  door  she  nearly  died  of  fright  !  The  air 
is  so  good  and  we  are  so  much  in  it,  the  house  really  does  not 
matter. 

I  have  read  all  through  the  Opera-House  meeting.  I  like 
Salisbury's  illustration  of  "  throwing  the  friends  to  the  wolves." 
I  wish  your  voice  could  have  been  heard  there.  How  was  it 
Wellington  was  a  soldier  and  a  politician  ?  Could  you  never 
be  Prime  Minister  ?     Now  answer  these  two  sensible  questions. 

Rose  Cottage,  Easebourne,  Midhurst, 
Sunday. 

Lady  While  I  think  of  it,  I  have  accepted  an  invitation  for  us 

Woiseley.  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^-^e  Blumenthals  i  on  Friday,  7th  May,  so  please 

mark  it  down.     I  hear  so  much  about  their  delightful  dinners, 

that  I  want  to  see  for  myself.     I  have  refused  dinner  at 

for  the  following  week,  sa57ing  you  would  probably  be  away 
inspecting  with  the  Duke.     Their  dinners  are  diabolical  and 
it  is  a  Saturday.     I  quite  understand  you  will  only  be  away 
on  the  13th  (evening) ,  but  I  thought  the  excuse  would  serve. 
^  The  famous  musical  composer. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  241 

T.  has  collected,  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  £4  amongst  the 
fifty  inhabitants  at  the  "  Albany  "  for  my  fund.  One  pound  is 
presented  by  Sir  WilUam  Eraser,  who  humbly  desired  Mr.  T. 
only  to  give  his  initials ;  but  Mr.  T.  betrayed  the  generous 
donor  and  puts  as  a  P.S.  to  his  note  some  remark  about  his 
son  in  the  Army  wishing  for  an  extension  of  leave.  This  I 
consider  the  cloven  hoof  appearing.  I  thanked  him  for  the 
£4,  but  ignored  the  son's  existence. 

I  diUgently  read  my  "  Irish  Land  "  question  and  am  quite 
enlightened  now  ;  when  they  come  to  *'  scrip  "  I  am  rather 
left  behind.  I  thought  Chamberlain's  speech  on  Friday 
excellent,  so  moderate  and  gentlemanly,  and  yet  fully  exposing 
the  old  crocodile. 

6  Hill  Street,  W., 
24lh  Nov.  '86. 

Yesterday  Frances  and  I  were  introduced  by  Alice  Northcote,  Lady 
herself  a  bibUophile,  to  the  eminent  Mr.  Quaritch.  He  will  Woiseiey. 
show  us,  you  and  me,  his  best  bindings  any  day  we  hke,  so  we 
will  go.  He  is  an  old  person  with  a  decidedly  good  opinion  of 
himself,  for  he  said  he  could  do  Bismarck's  work,  but  Bismarck 
could  not  do  his  !  He  presented  me  with  volume  vi.  of  his 
catalogue — most  interesting. 

I  have  got  such  a  rod  to  hold  over  you  for  bad  speUing  in 
your  note  which  I  got  this  morning  !  It  beats  the  **  fur  " 
trees  ! 

Our  friend  is  coming  up  to  town  next  week,  and  I  shall  ask 
him  to  dine  ;  he  will  not  accept,  if  he  was  as  tired  of  me  as  1 
was  of  him  the  other  day.  I  begin  to  think  it  is  a  blessing  to 
be  poor,  for  certainly  money  contracts  people's  minds  and 
hearts,  and  though  I  think  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  vice  in 
our  particular  Dives,  the  dullness  of  living  with  him  would 
be  something  appalling  ! 

Wednesday,  5/1/87. 

No  further  development  of  the  *'  political  "  position  regard-      Lord 
ing  which  one  sees  such  stuff  in  the  newspapers.     Please  write  ^°^^^^y- 
either  to  Mr.  or  Mrs,  Goschen  and  congratulate ;  say  that  your 
thanks  as  a  taxpayer  equal  your  congratulations,  as  you  have 
been  stnick  by  his  strong  and  healthy  love  of  nation  and  his 
16 


242  THE  LETTERS  OF 

self-abnegation — ^any  other  "  ation  "  you  can  think  of — at  a  time 
when  Randolph  has  shown  himself  regardless  of  all  consideration 
for  his  party  or  the  country. 

Harold  had  just  left  for  Oxford.  Had  been  skating  the  day 
before  on  the  pond  in  St.  James's  Park — had  hired  a  pair  of 
skates.  Lender  required  five  shillings  security,  which  Harold 
not  having  about  him,  he  gave  the  man  his  silver  watch 
and  chain  and  keys  to  hold  in  pawn.  Harold  has  the  skates 
but  the  man  has  not  been  heard  of  since.  If  he  had  been  to  a 
public  school  he  would  now  have  his  watch  and  keys  all  right. 

Wednesday,  12/1/87. 

Lord  We  had  a  pleasant  dinner  last  night  at  Sir  H.  Thompson's, 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  ^^  octave,  as  we  were  nine:  Self,  Thompson,  Charley 
Beresford,  Millais,  Sir  J.  Rose,  Sir  F.  Abel  (the  Government 
chemist),  Francis  Knollys,  Tenniel  (of  Punch),  and  Mr.  Jeune. 
Millais  made  the  repast  rather  boisterous.  Rose  looked  aged : 
can  this  be  matrimony  ? 

13/1/87. 
Lord  All   London   was  thrown  into   confused   horror   yesterday 

Woiseiey.  aftemoon  by  the  announcement  that  old  Lord  Iddesleigh  was 
dead.  He  died  without  consciousness  and  so  without  pain. 
What  could  any  civilian  wish  for  better  ? 

Wednesday,  16/2/87. 

Lord  I  dined  last  night  at  Bute  House.     Here  is  the  menu  of 

Woiseiey.  ^Yioi  was  really  a  work  of  art — gastronomy  carried  to  a  refine- 
ment that  Heliogabalus  might  well  have  envied.     I  sat  next 

Lady who  has  just  enough  wit  to  make  her  anxious  to  be 

agreeable  and  to  contribute  her  fair  share  towards  the  general 
entertainment  at  which  she  "  assists  "  ;  that  is,  I  beUeve,  the 
correct  verb  to  be  used,  according  to  newspaper  correspondents. 
The  party  was  Lord  Hartington,  the  Lathoms,  Corks,  French 
Ambassador  and  his  wife  and  sister-in-law,  David  Plunket,  the 
Hothfields,  Northbrook  and  Lady  Emma,  Harry  Chaplin,  Mrs. 
Henry  Manners — I  think  that  was  all.  **  A  select  party  "  after- 
wards to  hear  good  music.  There  was  a  **  professional  "  with 
the  well-grown  body  of  an  Englishwoman  and  the  head  of  a 
Hindoo — ^who  sang  very  well — ^at  least  her  voice  was  charming. 
Also  an  American  man  who  sang  to  perfection.     Lady  Water- 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


243 


ford  played  most  of  the  accompaniments  admirably.  I  sat  next 
Madame  d'Arcos,  who  introduced  the  subject  of  Lord  Orford, 
saying  how  pleasant  he  was,  and  so  on.  The  S.  of  S.  sent  for  me 
on  Monday  and  spoke  about  my  own  position  and  said  he 
would  do  all  in  his  power  to  help  me.  Lord  Weymouth  fainted 
after  dinner  at  the  Peels'.  He  looks  deUcate  but  is  very  good- 
looking. 

Thursday,  24/2/87. 

I  am  about  to  be  interviewed  by  some  man  who  wishes 
to  write  about  me  ;  I  am  shaping  my  mouth  by  repeating 
*'  potatoes,  prunes,"  etc.,  and  smoothing  down  my  hair  to  meet 
my  enemy  in  the  gates.  Shall  I  never  be  strong  enough  to  tell 
reporters  how  I  disHke  their  trade  ?  What  a  world  of  shams  and 
humbug  we  hve  in,  never  teUing  the  whole,  seldom  even  half 
the  truth  I 

Now  to  dinner  with  the  Henry  Reeves',  where  I  hope  to  have 
a  pleasant  literary  party.  I  went  to  bed  last  night  at  ten,  and 
read  myself  to  sleep  with  "Childe  Harold."  I  go  back  with 
such  pleasure  to  Byron  after  all  the  milk-and-water  rubbish  of 
so-called  poetry  I  find  now.  Do  pray  work  at  Espinasse  :  I 
think  if  you  once  produce  one  article,  you  will  find  it  so  hked  that 
your  next  will  be  a  labour  of  love.  I  laughed  till  my  sides 
ached  at  "  Dandy  Dick."  The  play  is  cleverly  if  extravagantly 
conceived,  and  the  plot  hangs  well  together. 


Lord 
WolseUy. 


Hamble  Cliff,!  Netley,  Southampton, 

Friday  Morning,  1 1/3/87. 

I  have  not  yet  seen  this  place  by  dayhght,  so  I  cannot  tell 
you  how  it  looks  with  the  sun  upon  it,  but  by  candle  and  lamp- 
light it  looks  essentially  comfortable.  It  has  all  that  extreme 
air  of  cleanliness  which  strikes  the  visitor  as  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  characteristics  at  Aston  Clinton.  Everything  most 
comfortable  and  tidy,  and  evidently  no  stint  of  housemaids, 
while  the  men-servants  correspond  with  the  house  and  its 
furniture.  Mrs.  Cyril  Flower  and  Mr.  Arnold  White  the  only 
people  staying  here  besides  myself.  I  shall  leave  this  at  9  a.m., 
so  as  to  be  at  the  Lev^  in  all  my  plumage  by  2  p.m. 
Canon  W^lberforce  is  the  great  clerical  light  here.  He  was  the 
1  The  home  of  the  hon.  Mr.  Eliot  Yorke, 


Lord 
Wolseley. 


244  THE  LETTERS  OF 

chief  organiser  of  the  meeting  last  night,  which  took  place 
in  a  big  theatre  intended  for  instructional  purposes.  It  was 
full  of  working  people,  and  the  proceedings  went  off  well.  I 
made  a  speech,  with  which  I  am  not  at  all  pleased,  as  I  missed 
several  of  the  points  I  mt ended  to  make,  and  forgot  a  subject 
I  meant  to  dwell  on.  It  is  absurd  my  attempting  to  speak 
without  notes. 

The  man  has  just  opened  my  windows.  The  house  is  in- 
tended to  be  Gothic — ^the  sort  of  Gothic  that  found  favour 
with  the  overestimated,  selfish  Horace  Walpole  when  he 
built  his  gimcrack  shanty  at  Strawberry  Hill.  The  sea  is 
50  yards  from  my  windows,  and  lying  about  300  yards  off  the 
house  is  a  steamer  at  anchor.  Mrs.  Yorke  keeps  a  yacht  and 
enjoys  life  in  a  most  reasonable  fashion.  She,  of  course,  does 
not  know  the  sensation  of  being  in  debt.     Happy  woman  ! 

Sunday  Morning,  1/5/87. 

Lord  Last  night,  at  the  Academy,  I  sat  next  George  Trevelyan, 

Woiseiey.  ^]^q  made  a  really  charming  speech  ;  he  must  be  perfect  at  the 
laying  of  foundation-stones  and  opening  of  educational  institu- 
tions, but  statesmen  are  made  of  sterner  stuff. 

The  show  of  pictures  was  too  bewildering  to  say  much  as 
to  its  general  quality  after  one  coup  d'ceil.  Tadema's  picture, 
for  which  he  has  been  paid,  I  hear,  ;f6ooo,  is  not  to  me  pleasing : 
too  much  subject,  and  that  subject  uninteresting.  Leighton 
has  a  woman  with  a  tearful  face  and  an  arm  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  the  body,  with  the  biceps  of  a  coal-heaver.  I  was 
greatly  pleased  with  my  inspection  of  telegraph  schools,  sub- 
marines, evening  schools,  etc.  at  Chatham.  I  am  having  plans 
copied  that  the  Queen  let  me  have  from  Windsor. 

Tuesday  Evening,  17/5/87. 

Lord  I  enjoyed  the  play  ^  last  night,  and  such  a  "swagger"  audience, 

Woiseiey.  including  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Crown  Prince  of  Denmark. 
Mrs.  Bernard  Beere  played  well,  except  that  she  was  too  violent 
and  made  too  much  noise  when  she  was  in  her  death-throes. 
Behind  us  sat  Oscar  Wilde  and  the  fellow  who  defended  Arabi  2 — 
I  forget  his  name — (he  is  about  Drury  Lane  theatre).    In  front  sat 

^  As  in  a  Looking-Glass. 
*  M.  A.  Broadley. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  245 

Merisia  Nevill  with  her  mother,  and  Lord  Ljditon.  Some  of  the 
men  who  played  the  part  of  gentlemen  in  the  piece  were  terrible. 
Colonel  Grove  was  there,  his  brother  having  translated  the  play 
and  arranged  it  for  the  English  stage. 

I  dine  to-night  with  the  "  Bissssshoffffsscheimss." 

14/6/87. 

The  scene  in  the  Albert  Hall  yesterday  was  the  finest  thing  Lord 
I  have  ever  seen  :  6500  masons  in  all  their  jewels  and  decorations  °  ^^"^* 
filled  the  building  to  overflowing.  Each  man  paid  one  guinea 
entrance,  except  those,  like  myself,  who  were  of&ce-holders. 
£6000  was  at  once  divided  between  the  three  great  EngUsh 
Masonic  charities.  A  night  never  to  be  forgotten,  and  when 
these  6500  stood  up  and  sang  "  God  save  the  Queen,"  you  ought 
to  have  heard  the  sound  at  Haslemere,  for  the  volume  of  voices 
seemed  to  drown  even  the  great  organ  in  the  hall.  I  felt  as 
if  it  would  have  burst  the  windows  open.  I  went  after- 
wards to  the  House  of  Lords  to  vote  for  the  Government  if  they 
had  gone  to  a  Division  over  the  Irish  Land  Bill.  I  was  therefore 
late  at  Lady  Dorothy's,  where  I  sat  next  a  most  interesting 
lady,  Miss  Mary  Robinson,  who  is  writing  a  history  of  France — 
rather  an  ambitious  undertaking. 

To-night  I  am  to  meet  the  Prince  of  Wales  at  Mrs.  Adair's  at 
dinner — most  probably  Lord  R.  Churchill  will  be  there.  I  shedl 
be  amused  to  see  what  position  he  will  take  up  as  regards  myself. 
I  have  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  article  in  the  Pall  Mall 
Gazette :  indeed  one  man  told  me  in  confidence  the  name  of 
the  writer. 

Tuesday,  28/6/87. 

My  Dearest, — Do  please  write  a  line  to  this  man  William-  Lord 
son  and  thank  him  for  the  verses  and  the  music  he  has  ^«^*^^- 
sent  you.  He  is  one  of  the  bores  of  my  life.  The  Queen  said 
she  was  much  gratified  by  your  letter  to  her.  She  looked  very 
well  but  said  she  was  tired — ^ninety  odd  to  dinner.  I  did  not 
get  back  here  until  past  midnight.  I  was,  however,  dehghted  to 
have  escaped  from  my  Irish  trip.  In  the  enclosure  you  wiU  see 
an  article  on  Canon  Liddon's  Some  Elements  of  Religion. 
I  think  you  ought  to  read  the  article  on  prayer  as  a  counter- 
balance to  the  atheistical  work  you  are  now  absorbed  in.  You 
musi  come  to  the  garden  party  and  let  the  Queen  see  you. 


24^ 


THE  LETTERS  OF 


Manor  House,  Haslemere, 
^th  July  1887. 

Lord  Excellent  G.  Biggs  offers  you  a  mounted  military  policeman 

WoisOey.  ^^^  ^^  orderly  to  guide  your  Victoria  to  the  other  Victoria's 
enclosure.  You  shall  be  quite  like  the  Princess  of  Wales  in  the 
Park.  He  thinks  you  may  have  your  view  obscured  by  Serene 
carriages  in  front  of  us,  so  to  guard  against  that  I  am  going 
to  keep  your  two  Stand  tickets  that  we  may  fall  back  on  the 
Stand  if  necessary.  That  leaves  you  one  to  give  away.  One  is 
no  good  to  a  woman.  Why  not  offer  it  to  parson  Sinclair  ?  If 
so,  post  this  note. 

6  Hill  Street,  4/8/87. 

Lord  Last  night  at  the  Borthwicks  were  Drummond  Wolff  and 

Woiseiey.  Randolph  Churchill— the  latter  evidently  anxious  to  be  civil. 
Only  five  at  dinner,  but  good  talk.  How  I  long  to  be  back 
with  you  in  the  country ! 

No,  don't  go  and  see  it  I  I  shall  certainly  not  buy  a  place 
until  I  get  rid  of  Hill  Street,  and  hearing  of  these  houses  makes 
my  mouth  water.  When  you  and  I  settle  down  we  should, 
however,  go  farther  from  London  than  West  Drayton.  I  must 
now  dress  for  dinner  at  the  Garrick,  where  I  dine  with  Mr. 
Smalley  to  meet  some  man  who  (Smalley  says  in  his  note)  is  to 
be  the  next  President  of  the  United  States.  He  does  not  mention 
the  name,  but  if  he  did  it  would  convey  nothing  to  either  you 
or  me. 


Lord 
Woiseiey. 


Lord 
Woiseiey, 


16/II/87. 

My  Dearest, — I  have  worked  since  early  morning  until 
now,  5.15  by  lamp  and  candle — ^a  dense  fog  that  makes  me 
cough.  I  cannot  get  the  Crown  Prince  ^  out  of  my  mind — such 
a  prince,  such  a  man  !  How  much  better  have  died  in  battle ! 
I  hear  M'Calmont  is  likely  to  get  something  by  compromise, 
as  it  is  found  the  will  is  so  badly  drawn  that  no  one  can  get 
anything  now,  so  all  are  glad  to  go  to  Parliament  for  a  short 
cut  to  set  the  will  aside. 

2'jth  November  1887. 

I  am  saddened  by  the  news  of  Lord  Dalhousie's  death.  He 
was  the  best  of  men — ^full  of  heart,  clever,  unselfish,  noble  in 

1  Of  Austria. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  247 

every  thought  and  action.     He  was  devoted  to  his  beautiful 
wife,  who  has  five  little  fatherless  boys  to  look  after. 

I  hear  of  our  friend's  miserable  failure  to  give  a  "  smart  " 
party.  Why  can't  he  see  his  own  friends,  give  them  his  own  fare 
cooked  by  his  own  cook,  as  a  gentleman  should  ? 


Manor  House,  Haslemere, 
nth  February  1887. 

I  have  read  your  article  through  twice.  It  is  very  good,  Lady 
I  think,  especially  where  you  warm  to  your  work  over  Lee  ^°^^^^^- 
and  his  military  feats.  I  think  you  write  most  clearly  and 
strikingly,  if  you  will  keep  clear  of  metaphors.  I  beg  you 
will  keep  in  mind  that  they  should  only  be  used  when  they 
enlighten  a  subject.  When  they  don't  illustrate  they  close  it. 
I  think  it  is  modesty  that  makes  you  try  them,  you  fancy 
your  article  dull ;  but  what  a  man  writes  clearly  about  a  subject 
he  understands,  can  never  be  dull  to  intelligent  readers.  I 
am  already  assuming  the  authoritative  manner  of  an  authoress  ! 
and  I  have  not  attempted  to  add  a  line  to  my  own  feeble  attempt. 
I  have  read  Hayward.  How  poor  he  is  after  Saint e-Beuve,  as 
different  as  day  and  night.  Nothing  more  to  tell  you.  Yes,  I 
have.  The  footman,  who  was  very  bald  quite  lately,  has  re- 
appeared with  quite  a  good  crop  of  hair,  and  Truman  tells  me 
it  is  vaseline.  As  no  doubt  it  is  your  vaseline,  pray  try  the  effect 
yourself,  and  let  us  see  you  appear  with  your  little  tunnel  erect 
again.     I  am  sure  you  can  if  you  will  give  it  a  fair  trial. 

Manor  House,  Haslemere, 
22nd  February  1887. 

I  have  answered  the  good  lady  for  myself,  and  said  you  would  Lady 
for  yourself.  I  hope  you  will  never  dine  with  them.  There  is  ^oiseiey. 
nothing  she  would  like  better  than  to  say  you  were  amiable 
and  I  not,  or  to  think  that  you  preferred  a  good  dinner  to 
espousing  my  cause.  Never  do  I  cross  her  threshold  again. 
I  did  not  say  all  this  to  her,  but  wrote  her  a  honeyed,  stereo- 
typed note. 

So  old  Percy  Doyle  is  dead  !  and  dear  Lady  Cardwell. 
I  should  like  to  send  a  wreath.  She  was  married  in  '38,  before 
I  was  born  !     I  am  sure  she  was  pretty. 


248  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  have  asked  Fricke  about  your  collar  and  uniform.  Great 
indignation  !  "  'Is  Lordship  'as  'ad  'is  uniform  since  ees  bin 
left  in  town  and  ee  knows  w'ere  ees  'ad  it  put."  And  as  to  your 
collar,  it  is  at  the  Bank,  in  a  separate  parcel,  and  the  receipt 
in  your  W.O.  drawer ;  and  all  this  you  know  as  well  as  Fricke 
does.     Oh,  I  got  into  dreadful  hot  water  ! 


Manor  House,  Haslemere, 
^rd  March  1887. 

Lady  I  read  your  Birkbeck  speech.     You  did  give  old  Bright 

^^^^^*  a  good  nag  or  two;  serve  him  right.     Come  down  in  time  for 

a  ride  on  Saturday.     It  will  do  you  good.     If  you  were  at  the 

D.-Room  to-day  tell  me  all  the  news. 

Manor  House,  Haslemere, 
13th  May  1887. 

Lady  The  Cranborne  wedding  is  Tuesday  ;  Lord  Arran  has  asked 

^^^^y^  us,  but  I  have  had  to  be  excused.  But  I  would  like  to  give 
Lord  Cranborne  something.  Elephants  ?  or  what  ?  we  gave 
Lady  Airlie  elephants.  Will  you  buy  him  something  to-morrow 
(Saturday)  and  send  it  off  at  once  with  this  (dreadfully  banal) 
note  which  you  can  read,  and  if  you  don't  like  it  write  another. 
Don't  put  off  buying  the  present  till  Monday,  as  the  wedding  is 
Tuesday. 

Manor  House,  Haslemere, 
ij\th  July  1887. 

Lady  J  see  all  Peeresses  who  have  applied  will  have  tickets  for  the 

Abbey — so  the  M.  Post  says.  Had  I  better  go  there  or  stay  with 
Frances  ?  If  I  get  my  Peeress'  ticket,  might  we  give  our  second 
military  ticket  to  some  military  lady,  say  Mrs.  Maurice.  I  don't 
think  we  ought  to  give  it  to  a  civilian,  but  to  a  military  lady  I 
think  we  might. 

Miss  Pannebakker  accepts  your  place  with  joy.  (It  is  a  pity 
we  can't  give  her  the  Abbey  ticket,  but  she  is  not  military.) 
She  only  doubted  on  account  of  expense  going  up,  and  I  have 
told  her  we  treat  her  to  that. 

So  glad  to  hear  you  long  to  live  under  a  **  healthy  despotism." 
I  will  see  what  I  can  do  for  you  from  Saturday  to  Monday.    The 


Wolseiey. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  249 

rest  of  the  week  you  can  try  the  system  yourself  on  your  Duke — 
you  say  it  must  be  "  young  and  vigorous."  The  former  I 
can't  say  it  will  be,  but  I  will  try  to  make  up  for  that  deficiency 
by  the  vigour. 

No,  I  could  not  have  put  myself  out  for  a  King  of  Saxony — 
I  can't  go  lower  than  Belgium. 

Manor  House,  Haslemere, 
2Sth  September  1887. 

Yesterday's  expedition  was  a  complete  failure.  Never  Lady 
again  do  I  embark  on  that  ceinture  railway.  From  12.30  to  ^  ^^^' 
2.15  I  spent  getting  from  Clapham  Junction  to  Westbourne 
Park.  The  house — ^when  I  got  there — is  in  a  hideous  country, 
nothing  but  brick  kilns  and  squalor.  It  is  walled  in  from  a 
labyrinth  of  trees  and  streams — a  primeval  jungle  uninhabited 
for  seven  years.  A  pretty  panelled  hall  and  excellent  oak 
stairs,  other  rooms  bad,  and  the  whole  house  timibling  down ; 
and  such  offices  ! — real  pigsties.  I  never  saw  so  abandoned  a 
place  ;  no  track  even  from  the  nice  old  iron  gates  to  the  front 
door,  and  the  grass  as  high  as  my  head.  The  front  door  faces 
a  blank  wall,  and  the  dirty  offices  face  the  lawn — altogether  a 
hateful  hole.  I  am  expecting  the  grand  Ladies  from  the  "  Hill." 
I  must  dust  my  chairs  with  my  apron  and  say,  "  Pray  take  a 
chair,"  when  they  come. 

Oakdene,  Guildford, 
27/1/88. 

A  lady  of  forty-five  would  have  been  cheered  this  morning     Lady 
on  her  downward  path  by  a  few  kind  words.     Had  her  name  ^^^^^^y- 
been  Sarah  Jennings,  her  birthday  would  not  have  been  for- 
gotten by  Mr.  Marlbro'  or  indeed  by  Marlbro's  biographer. 
There  is  not  even  one  of  Charles'  naughty  ladies  whose  birthday 
you  do  not  know  by  heart,  but  virtue  was  ever  at  a  discount. 

I  hear  Sala  says  that  when  he  first  met  you  in  Canada,  he 
made  a  memo,  in  his  diary  which  he  keeps  in  Italian  (his  mother 
tongue) :  "  I  met  to-night  a  young  man  who  will  go  far."  It  is 
as  true  of  you  bodily,  too,  as  mentally. 

I  also  saw  a  mention  of  you  in  a  book  of  one  "  James  Gay," 
who  calls  himself  "  Canada  Laurenti."  He  calls  you  "  Mr.  Sir 
Garnet  Wolseley."     He  says  all  "  wicked  men  flee  before  you." 


250  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  am  not  sure  that  the  principle  is  not  reversed  as  regards  the 
ladies.  I  must  admit,  however,  a  few  virtuous  (and  elderly) 
exceptions. 

By  the  way,  Alfred  Austin  complains  I  am  too  rococo, 
and  Henry  Bulwer  that  I  am  too  modern !  Oh  dear  !  I 
enclose  the  little  correspondence  with  Alfred. 

SwiNFORD  Old  Manor,  Ashford,  Kent, 
is/  January  'S^, 

Alfred  Dear  Lady  Wolseley, — ^A  very  Happy  New  Year  to  you 

Au^in    and  to  you  all. 
tody  Lord  Salisbury  has  not  had  time  to  read  "  P.  L."  !    I  should 

Wolseley.  think  not,  indeed,  poor  man.  We  were  talking,  only  ten  days 
ago,  and  he  was  lamenting  that  not  only  did  he  never  read  for 
pleasure,  but  he  never  did  anything  for  pleasure.  It  is  work  and 
nothing  but  work  with  him,  alas  ! 

Thank  you  for  returning  Dowden's  letter  (the  copy).  I  fear 
you  have  had  much  trouble  about  it.  And  so  you  find  it  "  rather 
incomprehensible  "  !  That  comes,  my  dear  Lady,  of  your  being 
of  the  period  of  "  Queen  Anne."  A  very  good  period,  and  I, 
for  one,  would  not  have  you  otherwise.  But  it  has  its  limita- 
tions ;  and  I  dare  say  it  makes  a  good  deal  of  what  is  written 
in  the  nineteenth  century  incomprehensible.  Yet  even  Mrs. 
Austin  says  she  never  read  anything  clearer  in  her  life,  and  she 
is  not  partial  to  the  obscure,  is  she  ? — ^Always  yours  sincerely, 

Alfred  Austin. 


Oakdene,  Guildford,  3/1/88. 

Lady  Dear  Mr.  Austin. — ^You  wiU,  I  am  sure,  like  to  know  that 

Wolseley   y^^j.  \]xx\q  silvered  pill,  so  prettily  wrapped  up  in  New  Year's 

Alfred  wishes,  has  not  only  not  disagreed  with  the  patient,  but  that  she 
Austin,  agrees  with  it.  I  am  proud  to  think  you  limit  my  limitations 
to  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  I  think,  though,  you  have  moved 
me  back  a  reign ;  surely  I  used  to  be  "  pure  Georgian  "  ?  I  have 
gained  by  the  move,  and  do  not  complain.  If  you  had  pushed 
me  back  to  the  intellectual  Standard  of  the  Goths  and  Vandals 
I  do  not  think  you  would  think  more  humbly  of  me  than  I  do 
of  myself.  It  is  difficult  to  be  vain  of  oneself,  is  it  not  ?  Per- 
haps your  innate  modesty  has  prevented  your  ever  reflecting 
on  the  subject  :  I  clearly  understood  that  Dowden  admired  you 
— ^and  inferentially  that  you  had  previously  admired  him — 
beyond  that  I  did  not  understand  much.  Knowing  my  Queen 
Anne  limits,  was  it  quite  kind  of  you  to  send  me  what  is  so  purely 
Nineteenth  Century  ?     You  so  perfectly  appreciate  my  limita- 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  251 

tions,  that  I  feel  I  can  frankly  tell  you  now  how  your  poems 
strike  me.  It  will  not  reflect  on  you,  only  on  me.  I  like  you 
so  much  with  birds  and  lawns  and  flowers  ;  so  little  when  you 
treat  of  human  beings.  They  seem  to  me  not  human  beings, 
only  figures  dressed  up  to  scare  us  from  your  perfect  rural 
idylls.  You  will  allow  that  in  assigning  you  the  place  of  honour 
from  1702-14  amongst  pastoral  poets,  I  do  not  deal  ungenerously 
with  you,  will  you  not  ? 

So  far,  all  in  my  letter  has  been  in  assent  to  yours.  Now 
we  come  to  a  strong  diversity  of  opinion.  I  object  to  "  Even 
Mrs.  Austin  understands  Dowden."  Mrs.  Austin's  intelligence 
is  not  of  a  calibre  to  be  apologised  for.  Had  you  said,  "  Even 
Mrs.  Austin  does  not  understand  Dowden,"  I  might  have 
followed  you. 

I  began  this  yesterday,  but  interruptions  obliged  me  to  put 
off  finishing  it  till  to-day,  and  now  do  so  with  every  cordial 
wish  for  you  both  in  '88,  and  three  cheers  for  Dowden  ! 

Oakdene,  Guildford,  1/2/88. 

Mrs.  Lang  looks  very  ill,  and  has  had  a  narrow  escape  of  Lady 
jaundice.  She  has  given  me  the  social  menu  for  your  dinner  ^°^*^ 
there  on  Friday.  The  Audrey  Bullers,  General  Milman  and 
daughter,  Monsieur  Jusserand,  a  nice  literary  French  attach^ 
at  the  Embassy.  He  speaks  English  very  well,  and  is  in  with 
all  the  Parisian  literary  and  bibliophile  world.  Miss  Hilda 
Montalba  (paints).  The  du  Mauriers,  a  young  Stephen,  and 
a  Miss  Black"  lie  "  or  "  ley,"  whom  you  have  often  met  at 
the  Langs.  Andrew  was  left  in  her  absence  to  hunt  up  a 
waitress,  and  has  muffed  it  and  got  a  housemaid  instead,  so 
prepare  for  the  worst !  There  is  a  tournament  going  on  between 
the  Poets.  Professor  Dowden  wrote  lately  a  Life  of  Shelley. 
Matthew  Arnold  has  thought  fit  to  criticise  this  and  all  the 
Shelley  and  Byron  amatory  shortcomings,  saying,  "  What  a 
world !  What  a  set ! "  Alfred  A.  has  fallen  on  Matthew  in 
the  February  National  in  an  article  called  "  The  Loves  of  the 
Poets."  Andrew  Lang  is  going  to  make  fun  of  Alfred  and  his 
"  Loves  "  in  a  Daily  News  article  which  I  am  to  have.  I  think 
it  will  be  great  fun.  Alfred's  article  is  most  poor  and  most 
conceited.  He  pardons  the  Shelley  and  Byron  scandals  by 
saying  there  is  such  a  thing  as  le  diable  au  corps,  and  that 
when  any  one  with  it  can  write  "  Manfred,"  etc.,  they  are 
completely  forgiven  by  their  fellow-creatures  ;  but  I  will  read 
you  titbits  from  Alfred. 


252  THE  LETTERS  OF 

With  regard  to  your  "  green  stockings,"  I  took  Mrs.  Lang's 
advice.  She  thinks  *'  dainty  "  might  be  used  for  "  proper." 
I  think  it  would  do.  /  think  ''  in  default  of  "  would  translate 
d  defaut  de.  You  can't  well  say  "  where  the  stockings  cease," 
but  iw  default  o/has  the  vagueness  of  d  defaut  de. 


Waddesdon,  Aylesbury, 
Wednesday,  10/7/89. 

Lord  This  is  a  man's  party  ;  not  even  the  gentle  Alice  Rothschild 

Woiseiey.  y^^^  made  her  appearance.  The  housemaids,  Ferdinand  R. 
tells  me,  are  ugly  on  purpose  to  put  temptation  away  from  these 
horrid-looking  Persians.  The  Shah,  when  he  sent  back  his 
harem  from  the  frontiers  of  Persia,  telegraphed  to  Constantinople 
to  have  a  Circassian  lady  purchased  for  him  during  his  journey 
in  Europe.  She  is  now  here  dressed  as  a  boy  and  guarded  by 
three  eunuchs.  We  all  saw  her  yesterday  when  she  arrived. 
Only  fancy  Hatfield  having  to  give  shelter  to  so  doubtful  a 
personage  !  The  two  young  princes  are  here,  and  appeared 
yesterday  at  dinner  with  the  Shah's  order  set  in  diamonds 
round  their  necks.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge  much  upset  that 
he  had  not  received  a  similar  honour  and  had  merely  received 
a  note  from  the  Shah,  giving  him  his  photograph,  **  not  even  in 
a  frame,"  as  he  said  ;  but  when  the  Shah  was  last  here  fifteen 
years  ago,  he  did  give  the  Duke  a  sword  set  in  diamonds. 

H.R.H.  is  fond  of  orders,  especially  if  set  in  diamonds. 
He  took  this  sHght,  as  he  deemed  it,  so  much  to  heart,  that 
I  volunteered — ^as  I  felt  he  wanted  me  to  do — ^to  speak  to 
Drummond  Wolff.  I  did  so,  and  he  spoke  to  the  Shah's  prime 
minister,  who  settled  that  H.R.H.  should  have  his  little  bauble. 


Athene UM  Club,  Pall  Mall,  S.W., 
Friday,  12/7/89. 

Lord  Maurice  called  for  me  as  I  was  leaving  the  War  Ofiice,  and 

Woiseieyt  ^g  went  to  see  some  valuable  pictures  on  view  at  Christie's — a 
charming  Httle  Meissonier  of  a  Cromwellian  vedette,  and  a 
Hobbema,  which  Agnew  told  me  would  fetch  £10,000. 

Have  I  told  you  that  I  was — most  secretly — offered  the 
Governorship  of  Victoria  vice  Sir  H.  Lock,  who  goes  to  the  Cape  ? 
Yes,  I  know  I  told  you,  but  you  have  never  taken  any  notice  of 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  253 

the  fact.  H.R.H.  goes  to  Germany  on  the  loth,  the  day  after 
the  review  for  the  young  Emperor  at  Aldershot.  He  does 
not  return  home  imtil  loth  September,  when,  with  your  per- 
mission, I  propose  to  go  with  some  Staff  College  of&cers  to  see 
the  battlefields  near  Metz — ^that  will  take  about  a  week — and 
then  I  would  propose  to  join  you  wherever  you  may  be.  How- 
ever, we  can  talk  these  plans  over  when  we  meet  on  the  19th. 
I  paid  Lady  Dorothy  Nevill  a  visit  yesterday.  She  has  had 
some  nice  Persian  things  brought  her  by  her  son.  He  was  at 
Waddesdon  as  a  sort  of  A.D.C.  to  Drummond  Wolff,  and  I 
found  him  most  amusing  :  essentially  cynical,  but  witty  and 
clever. 

Hatfield  House,  Herts, 
Monday,  15/7/89. 

Our  pleasant  party  consists  of  the  Waldegraves — she  desired  Lord 
especially  to  be  remembered  to  you  —  Lady  Dorothy  and  ^^^^^^* 
Meresia,  the  Chamberlains,  Harry  Chaplin,  who  will  doubtless 
be  the  Minister  for  Agriculture  when  the  Bill  passes  into  law. 
Sir  H.  James  and  his  niece,  the  Cranbomes,  and  the  very 
brainy  son,^  who  was  married  lately  to  Durham's  sister.  Linkey  ^ 
has  grown  into  a  very  tall  youth,  and  is  pronounced  to  be  and 
is  out  of  the  way  clever.  Lady  Salisbury  has  been  extremely 
nice  and  he  also — no  trace  of  displeasure  as  the  result  of  our  last 
year's  encounter.  I  am  to  dine  at  seven  this  evening  with  the 
Revd.  Canon  and  Mrs.  Leigh,  and  then  go  to  some  infernal 
temperance  meeting.  The  Prince  de  Joinville  had  some 
passages  with  Rachel  ;  their  correspondence  began  with  a 
letter  from  him,  of  which  this  is  a  copy  : 

"  Quand,  ou,  combien  ?  '* 

Her  answer  w£ls  : 

*'  Ce  soir,  chez  mot,  Hen." 

I  wish  I  could  tell  that  to  the  temperance  meeting  this 
evening,  for  I  can  think  of  nothing  more  suitable  at  present. 

Ranger's  Lodge, 
Greenwich  Park,  S.E.,  Blackheath, 

27/8/89. 

I  have  just  returned  from  Aldershot  to  find  your  note  from      Lord 
Homburg  awaiting  me.  Woiseiey. 

»  Lord  Robert  Cecil.  a  Lord  Hugh  Cecil. 


254  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Lord  Wantage  and  Brack  were  also  at  Government  House. 
Neither  the  former  nor  myself  had  a  servant,  but  of  course  Brack, 
who  only  owns  one  servant,  had  that  one  with  him,  and  left  his 
wife  to  be  served  by  the  housemaid.  To-day's  manoeuvres 
were  of  a  novel  kind,  for  ball  cartridge  was  used.  It  was  a 
little  nervous  work,  for  our  rifles  carry  such  a  distance.  A 
machine  gun  just  in  front  of  me  was  limbered  up  and  dragged 
to  the  front  without  being  unloaded  or  having  the  safety  catch 
put  on ;  the  consequence  was  that  one  of  the  barrels  went  off, 
and  the  bullet  went  into  the  ground  in  front  of  me.  It  ought 
to  have  killed  either  Evelyn  Wood  or  me. 

United  Service  Club,  Pall  Mall,  S.W., 

14/9/89. 

Lord  I  have  worked  hard  aU  yesterday  without  a  break,  and  this 

Woiseley.  coming  since  5  a.m.,  to  get  off  the  last  article  on  the  American 
War.  I  am  glad  you  appreciate  the  Campbell-Bannermans  ;  ^  if 
you  cultivated  him  you  would  do  so  extremely,  for  he  has  a  lot 
of  dry  humour.  I  like  him  very  much  and  used  to  respect  him 
highly,  until  in  one  short  twenty-four  hours  he  made  a  volte- 
face,  and  became  a  Home  Ruler. 


Brighton,  Wednesday,  3/7/89. 

Lady  I  wish  you  had  told  me  what  the  Shah  said  to  you.     You 

Woiseiey*  ^^^^  laconic,  but  with  all  your  writing  it  is  only  natural. 
I  heard  from  Madeleine  de  Pegronnet.  She  says  you  gave 
them  a  delicious  luncheon  and  ices.  It's  aU  very  well  your 
passing  it  off  as  a  chance  visit,  but  ices  seem  very  premeditated. 
What  a  strange  theory  Napoleon  had  about  his  bile  :  there  is 
no  personal  defect  a  man  cannot  get  himself  to  be  vain  of. 
"  Don't  you  know,"  said  he  to  the  Comte  de  Segur,  "  that  every 
man  that's  worth  an5d:hing  is  bihous  ?  'Tis  the  hidden  fire. 
By  the  help  of  its  excitement  I  see  clear  in  difficult  junctures. 
It  wins  me  my  battles." 

Freshwater,  6/7/89. 

Lady  Lady  B.'s  De  Stael  is  full  of  plums,  not  her  own,  but  clever 

Woiseiey.  French   sayings.     I   don't    believe  in   your  "interruptions." 
*  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman,  Prime  Minister  1 906-1 909. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  255 

They  are  studied  in  blue  pencil  d  la  Whistler.  I'll  have  a  red 
pencil  and  stop  suddenly  with  "  The  dogs  want  to  go  out." 
Don't  forget  you  are  pledged  here  on  the  19th. 

I  wonder  how  your  Waddesdon  went  off.  I  thought  it 
"  read  "  a  pleasant  party. 

Lady  Dorothy  tells  me  your  attentions  to  her  now  are  most 
marked  and  make  her  feel  quite  shy.  What  a  pair  of  turtle- 
doves ! 


Freshwater,  13/7/89. 

You  told  me  about  Victoria.     I  am  glad  you  don't  think     Lady 
we  need  go.     It  does  not  sound  very  alluring.     We  look  forward      ''  ^  ^' 
much  to  the  19th.     "  Nous  nous  ferons  une  fete  "  meet  you  at 
Yarmouth  and  bring  you  here.     I  hope  nothing  will  prevent 
this  little  plan.     I  am  sure  a  week  here  wiU  do  you  good.     It 
seems  greedy  of  us  to  have  four  to  your  one. 

Pray  tell  Lady  Gwendolen  that  we  know  from  Alf's  self — 
as  lately  as  last  month — ^that  Lord  S.  "  confides  all  his  poUtical 
difficulties  to  me."  This  was  whispered  in  my  ear  driving  me — 
vilely  badly — to  the  Ashford  Station.  If  he  conducts  the  car 
of  State  as  badly,  Heaven  help  us.  I  am  now  breathlessly 
following  the  fortunes  of  Harold  in  the  Fifteen  Battles,  It  is  a 
most  delightful  book  !  Frances  is  deep  in  Prescott's  Mexico. 
Mrs.  Jekyll  lent  us  James's  last  novel,  and  the  last  book  by 
the  Treasure  Island  man,  but  F.  says  she  much  prefers  Mexico^ 
stories  hore  her  so  !     See  how  superior  we  are  ! 

Please  bring  with  you  a  volume  called  Epitome  of  History. 
It  is  my  book,  and  you  have  got  it  in  your  room.  I  also  want 
Green's  Short  History.  My  studies  require  these.  If  you  could 
bring  me  from  London  Library  an  alluring  volume  of  Greek  or 
Roman  history,  or  any  book  to  follow  on  from  the  Fifteen 
Decisive,  I  should  thank  you  much.  Don't  bring  any  work 
to  do  ;  you  must  be  out  of  doors  all  day. 

Have  you  heard  of  Browning  verses  to  (the  late)  Edward 
Fitzgerald  in  this  week's  Athencsum  ?  I  should  like  to  hear 
what  literary  people  think  of  it.  A  book  called  Literary  Remains 
and  Letters  of  E.  Fitzgerald  has  just  come  out.  It  seems  he 
was  a  friend  of  Tennyson,  Lowell,  etc.  The  book  has  been 
carelessly  edited  and  remarks  left  in  letters  calculated  to  give 
pain.     I  think  Browning's   verses  odious,   and  in  the  worst 


256     .  THE  LETTERS  OF 

possible  taste  to  two  dead  people.  If  this  is  to  be  a  poet,  I 
am  thankful  you  are  not  one. 

Freshwater,  Tuesday,  16/7/89. 

Lady  Will  you  conform  to  our  homely  ways — Dinner  i,  and  tea- 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^j.  at  7  ?  Taking  it  then  instead  of  at  8,  one  can  stroll  out 
on  the  downs  in  the  evening,  which  I  like. 

I  have  just  finished  my  Decisive  Battles.  Mind  you  bring 
me  a  nice  book  to  follow  up  with.  I  have  found  the  Decisives 
most  interesting  and  not  a  bit  heavy,  only  that  they  demand 
sustained  attention.  I  am  glad  you  enjoyed  "  Salisbury's," 
as  the  servants  say. 

Here  is  what  was  said  of  Madame  du  Deffand,  and  I  think 

describes  Lady very  well :   "  Je  n'estime  pas  Madame  du 

Deffand,  mais  c'est  un  grand  chien  qui  fait  lever  beaucoup  de 
gibier."  That  is  her  conversational  quality.  She  "  puts  up  " 
lots  of  game,  and  that's  what's  useful  in  dull  society. 

I  at  last  have  found  a  subject  for  an  article  !  I  propose 
refuting  du  Chaillu's  theory  of  the  ape  being  our  great-grand- 
father ;  not  that  I  find  our  physical  improvement  a  difficulty, 
but  our  mental  decadence  is  an  insuperable  one.  No  one  will 
persuade  me  that  any  number  of  centuries  would  account  for 
the  difference  in  intellect  between  Lockyer  (our  Butler)  and  a 
Zoo  monkey. 

P.S. — ^As  you  don't  allow  "  fool  "  and  I  don't  think  "  owl  " 
abusive  enough,  let  us  compound  for  "  fowl."  Was  not  John 
f owlish  about  your  um^^rella  (as  he  calls  it)  and  your  keys  ? 


Hotel  de  Flandre,  Brussels, 
23/8/89. 

Lady  Our  crossing  was  very  rough  and  we  were  prepared  for  the 

^^^^y-  worst,  but,  strange  to  relate,  not  one  of  the  three  was  sick! 
Yesterday  we  walked  about  the  dear  streets  and  looked  into 
shops  in  the  morning.  We  did  no  churches  or  museums.  In 
the  afternoon  the  "  Guides  "  played  in  the  Park.  The  Park 
lamp-posts  were  aU  dressed  with  armour — cuirasses  and  crossed 
swords  and  flags — very  prettily,  in  honour  of  some  Belgian 
battle,  and  the  band  was  excellent.    Then  after  table  d'hote 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  257 

to  see  St.  Gudule,  which  was  lit  up  and  singing  going  on. 
Then  to  more  band  at  the  Vauxhall  in  the  Park  from  8 
till  10.  They  played  Gounod's  "  Ave  Maria."  It  made  me 
a  Httle  sad  to  remember  being  in  that  same  Vauxhall  thirty 
years  ago  (1859),  very  Ukely  in  August  too,  with  poor,  dear 
DaUcky.  What  a  stretch  of  Ufe  between  this  and  that  !  You 
and  I  have  been  there  since,  I  think,  or  started  to  go  there  if 
we  didn't  get  to  it. 

HoMBURG,  Monday,  26th  August  1889. 

This  place  is  full  of  Royalties.  The  Empress  Frederick  and  Lady 
her  three  daughters  (and  Princess  Christian)  at  the  Schloss,  and  ^°^*^' 
the  betrothed  of  one  of  them,  the  Duke  of  Sparta.  Then  the 
Prince,  your  Duke,  the  blind  Grand  Duke  of  Strelitz,  and 
Christopher  Sykes.  We  only  got  here  at  4  p.m.  yesterday,  and  H. 
t  once  made  me  write  my  name  down  for  the  Empress,  who  is 
'offended  (they  say  !)  at  any  English  person  not  doing  it.  N.B. — 
H.  inscribed  hers  for  the  second  time !  But  in  the  few  hours 
we  have  been  together  I  have  discovered  that  she  is  '*  death  " 
on  that  sort  of  thing.  After  dinner  we  went  to  the  Kurgarten 
— band  playing,  Chinese  lanterns,  and  all  that.  H.  chose  the  spot 
where  we  should  sit,  and  I  suspected  no  trap ;  but  when  the 
Prince  s  party  had  done  dinner,  they  swarmed  down  and  sat 
just  in  front  of  us,  and  it  seems  that  is  where  they  always  sit, 
so  she  had  put  us  there  on  purpose.     It  was  such  a  horrid  httle 

comedy  altogether.    The  Prince  did  not  see  me.     Lady  

^came  to  talk — ^to  keep  well  with  every  one,  but  panting  to  get 
back  to  the  Royal  group.  The  old  Duke  was  very  civil,  talking  to 
Frances  and  me,  and  pinching  us  to  see  if  our  clothes  were  warm 

enough.     Lady said  she  would  go  into  Frankfort  with  us 

to-day  (we  go  on  to  Wiirzburg),  and  we  are  to  partake  there  at 
luncheon  of  a  souffle  en  surprise,  of  which  the  illustrious  people 
rave  (a  hot  souffle  with  ice  inside).  She  will  not  want  the 
soufia6,  as  it  will  cost  money,  but  I  think  I  shall  make  her  have 
it,  as  her  appetite  for  Royal  society  brought  it  about. 

WuRZBURG,  Thursday,  August  '89. 

/  can't  say  the  day  of  the  month, 

I  have  not  written  to  you  since  I  wrote  on  Monday  from     Lady 
Homburg.     On  our  road  here  that  day  we  met   Sir  Ralph  ^°^'^*y- 

17 


258  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Thompson  at  a  German  Clapham  Junction,  who  told  me  he  had 
left  you  quite  well  two  days  before,  and  drinking  "  Carlsbad 
water."  I  fear  that  looks  like  indigestion.  You  ought  to  be 
going  to  Marienbad,  not  me.  We  have  found  so  much  to  see 
here  that  we  have  stayed  on  till  now.  The  town  itself  is  charm- 
ingly picturesque,  with  a  beautiful  Bishop's  Palace  full  of  such 
tapestry  and  such  furniture  !  Yesterday  we  went  over  to 
Kissingen  for  the  day — a  very  nice  excursion.  We  dined 
there  next  old  Bylandt,^  who  was  very  galant.  Countess  B. 
could  not  appear,  suffering  from  a  had  mosquito  bite;  Prince 
Christian  was  at  dinner. 

Hotel  Klinger,  Marienbad,  7/9/89. 

t^y  Why  don't  you  go  on  from  Metz  to  Coburg  and  pay  the 

^^^'  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  a  little  visit  ?  It  would  be  a  novelty 
to  you.  You  could  come  on  then  and  meet  us  at  Dresden. 
The  band  begins  to  play  outside  this  hotel  at  6.30,  and 
after  that  there  is  no  peace.  I  drink  three  glasses,  with 
intervals  of  fifteen  minutes,  then  take  an  hour's  walk  in  the 
woods,  then  come  home  to  tea  and  dry  bread.  The  Bannermans 
put  us  up  to  buying  our  bread  at  an  adjacent  baker's.  One 
gets  it  fresh  and  unfingered.  I  also  buy  three  raw  eggs — and 
we  have  an  egg-boiler.  They  cost  three  kreuzers  each,  instead 
of  the  hotel  charge  of  twenty  each  !  The  food  is  not  at  all 
good,  except  the  sweets,  which  one  may  not  eat,  but  which 
are  excellent.    The  meat  is  wretched,  and  the  fowls  are  like 

sparrows,  nothing  on  them.     We  find  Lord an  intolerable 

bore  and  do  all  we  can  to  shake  him  off.  The  C.-Bannermans 
are  most  friendly.  The  Bishop  and  wife  are  unsoignes,  and 
he  has  horribly  soft  hands.  Yesterday  I  met  Maude  Valerie 
White,  and  to-day  she  is  to  come  and  fetch  us,  and  we  are  to 
*    try  her  hotel  for  our  i  o'clock  meal. 

I  can't  forget  that  dreadful  risk  you  ran  at  Aldershot. 
It  quite  haunts  me.  Please  don't  let  such  dreadful  things 
happen  again. 

Hotel  Klinger, 
gth  September  1889. 

Lady  I  really  begin  to  like  the  place  rather  better.    The  people 

Woiseiey.  are  gradually  thinning  off.    The  Doctor  leaves  soon,  so  one  must 
*  Sometime  Netherlands  Minister  in  London. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  259 

look  after  one's  own  interior  economy.     Poor  Mrs. has  been 

much  troubled  with  hers  the  last  few  days — and  so  I  have  not 
had  her  company  during  my  morning  walks,  and  to  tell  the 
truth  have  much  enjoyed  my  sohtude.  It  is  rather  dreadful 
to  have  a  person  talking  bright  platitudes  to  one  at  7  a.m. 
She  is  always  cheerful,  always  considerate,  never  has  a  ray 
of  imagination.  She  brings  the  entire  energy  of  a  clear  intelli- 
gence to  Uving  a  few  kreuzers  cheaper  than  any  one  else,  and 
this  too  calls  into  play  a  great  deal  of  self-denial.  In  this  way 
she  gets  rid  of  the  superabundant  vitality  which  would  have 
found  its  proper  outlet  in  managing  a  husband  and  large  family. 
Her  little  dodges  are  most  amusing.  She  pockets  bread  from 
the  restaurants,  but  not  here,  as  one  pays  for  each  little  bread 
one  has.  She  carries  about  tinned  soup  and  tinned  tongue, 
and  eats  them  in  private,  thereby  saving  a  meal.  She  also 
fills  and  empties  her  own  bath,  and  as  she  uses  cold  water  she 
has  nothing  to  pay  for.  She  would  not  go  to  see  the  Doctor — ^to 
save  expense — ^but  acted  on  what  he  told  me — and  I  suppose 
it  does  not  suit  her,  for  she  has  been  quite  upset.  It  is  the  tinned 
tongue,  I  think,  too  !  Can  you  fancy  life  being  worth  living 
on  Brand's  Essence  and  tinned  tongue,  and  without  a  campaign  ! 
To-day  I  got  far  away  from  all  the  Germans  into  entire 
solitude,  and  up  to  a  considerable  height.  Mrs.  Campbell- 
Bannerman  says  one  may  walk  anywhere  alone,  the  peasants 
are  so  civil  and  well-behaved,  but  you  know  I  am  not  very 

brave  !     Mrs. has  gone  to  battle  with  the  Burgomaster 

about  her  Kur-tax.  She  has  been  here  two  days  over  the 
week — a  week  is  allowed  free — and  has  therefore  to  pay  the 
same  as  if  she  were  here  for  the  whole  season.  Here  every 
one  expects  a  tip.  Every  man  takes  off  his  hat  to  you  down 
to  the  ground  every  day,  and  when  you  leave  they  all  assemble 
to  "  kiss  the  hand  "  (in  words  only)  and  to  be  tipped.     It  will 

be  great  fun  on  Wednesday  to  witness  Mrs. 's  departure. 

I  believe  she  will  walk  to  the  station  carrying  her  trunk  to 
avoid  them. 

I  wish  you  could  see  the  fat  Germans  here.  I  am  sure  if 
you  ever  have  to  fight  them,  you  have  only  to  cut  off  their 
commissariat  and  they  will  give  you  no  trouble.  Leave  them 
their  cannons  and  seize  their  Kiichens — and  they  will  surrender 
in  twelve  hours. 


26o  THE  LETTERS  OF 


Hotel  Klinger,  Marienbad, 
Wednesday,  nth  September  '89. 

Lady  Mrs.  has  just  left.     She  got  quite  ill,  but  her  illness 

pleased  in  one  way.  It  enabled  her  to  save  on  her  meals. 
She  announced  with  great  glee  that  she  had  only  spent  ninety 
kreuzers — ^about  is.  6d. — on  food  yesterday. 

The  Bishop's  amiable  wife  is  confined  to  her  bed  and  we  go 
and  sit  with  her.  She  seems  not  to  like  to  be  a  moment  alone, 
which  seems  strange  to  me.  She  asked  Mitchell  to  go  and 
wash  her  in  bed,  and  shocked  M.  by  pulling  off  her  nightgown 
without  any  hesitation.  She  and  the  Bishop  sleep  in  the  same 
room,  never  have  a  bath,  and  wash  with  the  same  piece  of  soap, 
and  that  a  very  small  piece,  and  in  a  teacup  of  water.  He  looks 
untidy  and  unbrushed,  but  he  is  really  very  nice  and  kind,  and 
chats  of  everything — his  servants,  his  ecclesiastical  occupations, 
etc.  etc.  The  band  ceases  to  play  next  Sunday,  and  after  that 
I  expect  to  find  myself  the  only  drinker  at  the  well.  What  a 
blessing  it  is  to  like  one's  own  company,  only  that  it  is  a  curse 
when  one  can't  get  it. 

Marienbad,  17/9/89. 

Laiy  Xhe  Mettemich  Schloss  (Konigswaeter),  which  we  went  to 

^  **  ^*  see,  is  not  much  of  a  place.  There  is  a  curious  museum  of  all 
the  objects  of  interest  the  Minister  collected  in  his  life.  There 
was  Talleyrand's  walking-stick,  and  the  King  of  Rome's  cane, 
and  Taglioni's  shoe,  and  Napoleon's  "  wash-and-hand-basin- 
stand  "  from  Elba,  and  a  piece  of  his  pall,  and  a  letter  of 
Byron's,  and  the  bag  Eugenie  took  with  her  when  she  left  the 
Tuileries.  The  Schloss  has  a  body  and  two  wings,  and  across 
the  wings  an  iron  "  grille "  like  Chevening.  It  stands  in 
rather  pretty  grounds ;  there  is  another  building  in  the  grounds 
which  is  an  inn  belonging  to  the  Mettemichs,  where  any  one 
can  get  refreshments  before  going  to  the  museum.  Fancy 
Lord  Stanhope  having  an  inn  for  the  Sevenoaks  'Arrys  at 
his  door  1 

P.S. — I  have  just  got  your  letter  and  hurry  off  this  at  once 
for  your  speech.     I  am  afraid  it  is  very  English. 

Je  regrette  infiniment  ne  pouvoir  vous  remercier  en  aUe- 
mand  de  I'honneur  que  vous  me  faites.    Je  ne  parle  pas  votre 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  261 

belle  langue  ;    je  suis  done  oblig^  de  m'exprimer  en  fran9ais, 
sachant  que  le  fran9ais  se  parle  plus  g^n Element  que  Tanglais. 

[  Chaque  annee  plusieurs  officiers  anglais  se  rendent  k  Metz 
pour  6tudier  sur  place  les  champs  de  batailles  oii  on  a  livr^ 
de  si  glorieux  combats.  De  retour  en  Angleterre  ces  of&ciers 
ne  manquent  jamais  de  me  parler  (I  don't  know  "  report  ") 
avec  chaleur  de  la  bont^  et  de  I'hospitalit^  qui  leur  a  ^t^ 
temoign^es  par  le  G6n6ral  et  tous  les  officiers  de  la  Garrison 
de  Metz. 

Je  fais  mes  voeux  les  plus  sincdres  pour  que  ces  bons  senti- 
ments s'augmentent  entre  la  grande  arm^e  de  I'Allemagne 
et  notre  petite  arm^e  Britannique.  N'oublions  jamais  que 
dans  le  pass^  nos  armies  ont  combattus  ensemble  (hras  d 
bras  ?  I  am  not  sure  if  there  is  such  an  expression)  en  bons 
allife.  Je  suis  profond^ment  touch^  du  bon  accueil  que 
vous  nous  avez  fait,  et  je  vous  prie  au  nom  de  mes  com- 
pagnons  (camarades  ?  too  familiar,  perhaps)  d'agr^er  nos 
sincdres  remerciments. 

Je  bois  k  Tarmde  (or  L^ve  mon  verre)  de  TAllemagne  et  k 
son  avenir  glorieux. 

Marienbad,  Sunday,  22/9/89. 

At  Dresden  we  must  hear  a  Wagner  opera  well  done  and  Lady 
see  how  we  Uke  it.  We  have  had  since  yesterday  the  excite-  ^^^^^^- 
ment  of  a  royalty :  the  Archduke  Karl — ^the  Emperor's  brother. 
Yesterday  when  he  arrived  we  were  quite  the  British  snobs 
dogging  his  carriage,  but  it  is  pardonable  here  where  one  has 
no  occupation  I  It  was  great  fun  seeing  the  hotel  excitement — 
the  staff  in  tail  coats  and  white  gloves.  There  are  two  poUce- 
men — armed  like  bersaglieri — ^who  are  sent  to  wait  at  every 
different  point  he  visits  in  the  town.  He  drank  at  the  Brunnen, 
but  did  not  walk  up  and  down  at  the  band,  which  had  been 
expected  of  him.  He  went  to  Mass,  and  the  country  people 
stood  on  the  church  seats  to  look  at  him.  He  is  in  uniform, 
with  such  a  nice  miUtary  greatcoat  lined  with  red.  The  Burgo- 
master never  leaves  him  day  or  night. 

Ranger's  House,  Greenwich  Park,  S.E., 
29/12/89. 

The  enclosed  Christmas  card  is  amusing.     But  why  have      Lady 
such  vulgar  things  at  all  ?     It  is  only  the  Augustus  Harrises      °  ^^' 


262    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

and  the  Routledges  who  have  them,  and  then  they  should  be 
merely  for  strangers,  not  for  an  Uncle  who  has  made  your 
career !  I  have  read  Lady  Catherine  Gaskell's  article  on 
"  Women  "  in  November  Nineteenth  Century.  It  is  very  clever 
and  very  sensible.  I  am  reading,  too,  with  great  pleasure, 
Mallock's  From  an  Enchanted  Island  (Cyprus).  It  is  full  of 
fancy  and  imagination.  I  am  trying  to  put  all  letters  aside 
and  have  a  good  holiday,  but  it  seems  almost  impossible.  1 
am  glad  you  think  I  was  correct  about  the  little  poseuse.  1 
am  not  quite  about  people,  but  I  think  I  am  fairly  correct 
once  I  am  on  the  track.  I  am  sorry  to  hear  of  the  boy's 
stammer.  It  will  be  a  great  drawback  to  him  in  life.  Perhaps 
he  is  shy  with  you. 

Ask  Mr.  Scott  about  our  coils.  He  hides  his  in  marble 
consoles,  but  we  have  none.  Could  we  conceal  them  under  our 
big  settees,  or  would  the  woodwork  break  up  from  the  heat  ? 
Look  at  his  and  reflect.  Tell  me  if  his  house  marches  well. 
He  teaches  his  footmen  even  how  to  get  out  of  bed  and  throw 
back  the  clothes.  If  the  weather  is  at  all  fine  we  shall  go  to  poor 
Browning's  funeral,  but  to-day  is  Siberian  and  a  fog  thrown  in. 


1890-1891 

[In   1890   Lord   Wolseley  succeeded   Prince  Edward  of  Saxe- 
Weimar  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Forces  in  Ireland.] 


CHAPTER  XIX 

Army  and  Navy  Club, 
7/8/90. 

The  Queen  was  very  gracious  at  dinner  last  night  at  Osborne,      Lord 

and  looked  very  happy  and  well.     The  Princess  of  Wales  looked  ^°^^^^y 

twenty,  and  lovely,  though  dressed  upon  a  very  hot   night 

in  a  bright  red  velvet  dress.     Fifty  sat  down  to  dinner.     We 

dined  in  a  tent  joining  on  to  the  house.     After  the  dinner 

the  Queen  stood  up  and  proposed  the  Emperor's  health,  which 

we  drank :    the  band  had  been    ordered  to  play,   and  the 

piper  not  to  pipe  when  this  was  done.    There  was  a  pause  : 

no  band.     The  Queen  angry  :    messenger  sent  for  the  band 

to  play — ^all  still  standing,  when  in  burst  the  pipes,  blowing 

hard  at  **  Scots  wha  hae,"  or  something  of  that  sort.     The 

Queen  furious,  calling  out  to  stop  that  piper.    Piper  turned  back 

and  his  wind-bag  silenced.    No  band,  so  we  all  sat  down.     The 

Duke  of  Connaught  began  long  explanation  across  the  table  to 

the  Queen,  who  was  very  angry,  but  in  the  middle  of  it  in  again 

burst  the  irrepressible  piper  and  his  infernal  lament  over  some 

old  Highland  cow  that  had  "  been  stolen  away."     It  was  too 

comical,  and  every  one  burst  out  laughing,  the  Emperor  setting 

the  example,  and  the  Queen  joining  in  it.    The  Emperor  was 

very  jolly  all  day,  full  of  life  and  fun,  with  great  reality  in  all 

he  does  or  says.    The  Prince  of  Wales,  who  was  most  kind,  goes 

to  Homburg  as  soon  as  the  Cowes  Week  is  over,  the  Queen  to 

Scotland. 

•63 


264  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Ranger's  House, 
Sth  August  1890.    9  p.m. 

Lord  At  Clarence  House  last  night — de  Staal  ^  and  young  Maurice 

Woiseiey.  BQUj-^e  and  self  the  only  strangers.  Three  of  the  little  princesses 
and  the  young  prince  dined  with  us.  The  latter  is  immensely 
improved,  and  his  mother  is  giving  him  very  good  manners. 
The  girls  promise  to  be  tall.  The  eldest  very  nice  looking. 
We  played  whist  in  the  evening :  the  Duke  was  very  talkative 
and  a  little  difficult  to  follow  :  de  Staal  very  dry  and  amusing. 
The  Duke  went  off  this  morning  to  Kissingen,  and  to-morrow 
the  Duchess  and  all  the  family  go  to  Coburg — I  am  to  see  her  off. 
The  Duke,  as  you  perhaps  may  have  seen  in  some  of  your  gossip 
papers,  has  been  given  the  naval  command  at  Plymouth. 
I  presume  all  will  rally  there  this  winter.  I  have  just  read  your 
letter  at  breakfast,  with  Caesar — I  wish  his  name  were  not 
Caesar — ^looking  at  me  with  his  great  paws  on  the  doors  leading 
from  the  dining-room  to  the  gardens ;  his  great  honest  face 
watching  me,  and  his  long  tail  still  wagging  with  the  satisfaction 
his  stomach  derived  from  the  skin  of  the  Yarmouth  bloater  I 
had  for  breakfast  and  so  shared  with  him.  I  took  the  inside 
and  gave  him  the  hard  shell — ^the  usual  selfish  division  made 
by  man  with  his  best  friend,  the  dog.  This  morning  I  had 
Mr.  Stead,  late  of  the  Pall  Mall,  to  breakfast,  and  I  found  him 
so  interesting  that  he  stayed  on  to  luncheon  at  half -past  twelve. 
We  had  breakfasted  at  7  a.m.  Of  course  I  don't  agree  with 
his  socialistic  views,  but  there  is  an  earnestness  in  the  man 
which  takes  me  very  much.  His  father  was  a  Methodist  minister, 
and  he  is — to  my  astonishment — d,  strong  believer  in  Chris- 
tianity, that  is,  in  the  teaching  of  Christ.  His  idea  is  there 
should  be  one  universal  religion,  that  of  trying  individually  to 
be  like  Christ,  and  in  all  relations  in  life  to  act  as  you  think 
Christ  would  have  acted  under  similar  circumstances.  This  he 
thinks  would  be  a  bond  of  religious  union  between  Roman 
Catholics  and  all  denominations  of  Protestants.  He  is  a  sort 
of  man  who  in  days  of  active  revolution  might  be  a  serious 
danger.  I  looked  at  him,  thinking  if  it  should  ever  be  my  lot 
to  have  to  hang  or  shoot  him. 

You  have  never  before  written  to  me  so  regularly,  and  I 
fully  appreciate  the  attention.    A  letter  has  gone  to  the  Treasury 
1  The  Russian  Ambassador. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  265 

urging  that  my  pay  and  allowances  in  Ireland  be  made  up  to 
£4000  a  year.  That  would  be  a  very  acceptable  solution,  but  I 
don't  think  Goschen,  if  he  sees  it,  will  consent.  He  certainly 
has  been  no  friend  of  mine  as  regards  my  pay,  and  I  don't 
expect  him  to  be  so  now.  However,  I  am  glad  I  urged 
the  matter  by  boldly  writing  to  point  out  how  inferior  would 
be  my  pay  when  compared  with  that  received  by  all  my 
predecessors. 

Stanhope  ^  went  away  last  night  from  town,  and  before  he 
left  he  came  to  my  room  to  bid  me  good-bye.  He  was  as  nice 
as  he  could  be,  and  we  parted  good  friends,  outwardly  at  least. 

P.S. — Hurrah  !  Since  writing  to  you  this  morning  I  have 
received  a  letter  from  the  Treasury  giving  me  pay  in  Ireland 
at  the  rate  of  £4300  a  year,  which  is  exactly  £1000  a  year  more 
than  I  was  to  have.  This  will  make  us  much  more  comfortable. 
If  we  can  only  get  rid  of  Hill  Street  now  we  shall  be  well  off 
during  our  sojourn  in  filthy  Dublin. 

East  Burnham  Lodge,  Slough, 
Wednesday,  20th  August  1890. 

I  congratulate  Frances  upon  the  notice  of  her  in  the  Pall  Lord 
Mall  Gazette.  An  American  coming  to  England  for  a  few  days  ^^^*^^- 
or  weeks  generalises  from  his  small  and  short  experience  :  how 
absurd  !  and  yet  that  is  how  history  is  made  in  this  age  of 
printing  and  newspapers.  The  letter  of  Browning  I  think 
delightful.  What  a  pity  that  a  man  who  could  write  such 
plain,  good,  forceable,  and  easily  understood  sense  in  prose, 
should  ever  have  embarked  in  writing  the  mystic  and  un- 
understandable  gibberish  which  he  called  poetry  ! 

We  had  quite  a  pleasant  time  yesterday  on  the  river,  though 
from  about  i  p.m.  it  rained  incessantly.  Grove  had  stayed 
here  the  night  before,  and  he  and  "  the  Major  "  I  and  Madame 
met  me  at  Taplow  station,  from  whence  we  drove  to  Maiden- 
head. There  Skindles  was  in  its  glory.  It  has  been  greatly 
enlarged  to  allow  of  a  still  larger  number  of  doubtful-looking 
couples  to  spend  their  "  Saturday  to  Monday  "at.  I  saw  one 
old  thing  who  must  be  as  old  as  I  am,  a  well-known  cocotte — 
not  spelt  correctly,  I  think,  but  then  I  don't  know  much  about 

*  Right  Hon.  Edward  Stanhope  (1840-93),  second  son  of  fifth  Earl 
Stanhope,  Secretary  of  State  for  War,  1887-92. 


266  THE  LETTERS  OF 

them — ^when  I  was  quite  young.  She  has  a  good  income  from 
those  she  has  Hved  with,  and  as  Pope  says  in  his  essay  on  women, 
seems  apparently  to  love  "  to  haunt  the  places  where  her  virtue 
fell."  That  is  not  correctly  quoted,  for  it  is  some  twenty-five 
years  since  I  read  it.  There  we  embarked,  with  luncheon 
baskets  and  wraps,  in  a  very  nice  boat,  and  Grove  pulled  us 
slowly  but  "  gracefully  "  up  that  loveliest  of  reaches  which 
extends  from  Maidenhead  to  Formosa. 

We  rowed  back  to  Maidenhead  in  the  rain,  where  the  Griffiths' 
carriage  met  us,  and  we  came  on  here  in  it  through  lovely  Burn- 
ham  Beeches — oh,  how  lovely  they  are  ! — beyond  there  the  most 
beautiful  of  heather  and  bracken-covered  common,  rich  with 
greens  of  many  shades  and  with  purple.  Beyond  lay  this  little 
place  :  a  reddish  modern  house  of  the  villa  type,  "standing  in 
its  own  grounds  "  of  some  eighty  acres  :  it  is  for  sale  at  £15,000. 
A  delightful  home  for  us. 

Friday,  22/8/90. 

Lord  On  Monday,  the  1st  September,  I  go  away  and  expect  to 

Woiseiey,  appga,r  at  the  Manoeuvres  at  Lord  Wantage's.  I  don't  propose 
to  appear  here  many  times  during  the  month  of  September. 
Now  that  the  time  for  going  to  Ireland  is  close  at  hand,  much 
as  I  rejoice  at  getting  out  of  this  place  under  present  circum- 
stances, I  loath  the  idea  more  and  more  of  going  to  Dublin. 
The  squalor  of  the  people,  the  wet  climate,  etc.,  make  the 
notion  more  and  more  repulsive.  However,  it  must  be  faced. 
To-morrow  I  mean  to  stay  at  home  and  have  a  long  ride.  I 
have  Mr.  Stead  coming  to  breakfast.  He  has  just  sent  me  the 
proof  of  his  article  on  me  for  his  next  number  of  the  Review  of 
Reviews.  It  is  made  up  of  extracts  from  Mr.  Low's  book  about 
me,  and  from  the  conversation  I  had  with  him  when  he  last 
paid  me  a  visit.  He  must  have  a  wonderful  memory,  for  he 
repeats  many  things  I  said  which  I  had  forgotten. 

2Uh  August  1890. 

Lord  To-morrow  we  go  to  Aldershot  for  one  of  the  Duke's  silly 

Woiseiey,  ^eviews,  and  the  day  after,  Saturday,  another  still  more  silly 
inspection  at  Woolwich,  dinner  at  mess,  etc.  How  glad  I 
shall  be  to  get  away  from  all  this  ceremonious  nonsense !  I 
don't  believe  there  is  a  more  loyal  man  in  England  than  I  am, 
or  one  who  would  do  more — ^few  as  much — ^than  I  would  do  for 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  267 

the  Monarchy ;  but,  much  as  I  am  attached  to  the  Royal  Family, 
I  dislike  having  to  deal  with  Royal  people  on  any  business 
matter,  much  less  on  Army  matters. 


Sunday,  31/8/90. 

A  day  of  peaceful  rest  after  a  good  deal  of  noisy  nonsense.  Lord 
The  Duke  proposed  my  health  last  night  at  the  R.A.  mess,  ^<'^^^^- 
and  in  my  speech  I  mentioned  in  a  chaffy  manner  the  strong 
language  I  had  heard  him  use  at  times  when  he  pitched  into 
delinquents.  This  brought  down  the  house.  I  said  I  hoped 
I  deserved  his  praise  as  well  as  those  delinquents  had  always 
deserved  his  censure. 

I  go  north  to-morrow  to  Walter  Stanhope's  ;  so  does  H.R.H. 
to  the  Downes',^  where  he  stays  for  the  week.  He  told  me 
last  night  that  he  missed  the  society  of  some  one  in  whom  he 
could  confide,  and  positively  hated  his  big  house  at  this  season. 
Hence  his  love  for  getting  away  at  this  season  when  London 
was  so  empty.     I  do  sympathise  with  him. 


Pyt  House,  Tisbury,  Wilts, 
Sunday,  yth  September  1890. 

I  have  polished  off  a  large  number  of  letters  this  morning  £^^^ 
already,  and  now  scribble  you  a  few  lines  before  lunch.  This  is  Woiseiey. 
a  nice  house.  I  have  been  looking  over  piles  of  old  letters, 
chiefly  from  Charles  the  First  to  Prince  Rupert — so  well  written 
and  so  well  worded  many  of  them  they  would  have  done  credit 
to  a  literary  man  of  the  present  day.  The  lady  of  the  house  is 
always  nice — a  soft  voice  and  manner  is  enough  to  make  most 
women  charming.  Hatch  House,  as  you  perhaps  remember, 
is  the  old  house  only  a  few  hundred  yards  from  this  house,  and 
is  that  in  which  the  first  Lord  Clarendon  lived. 

We  drove  over  to  see  General  Pitt  Rivers,  a  man  of  varied 
tastes  and  very  public-spirited,  who  lives  in  the  midst  of  Cran- 
boume  Chase,  a  part  of  which  he  has  converted  into  a  small 
public  park.  There  he  has  a  band  every  Sunday  during  the 
summer,  which  plays  pro  bono  publico.  Crowds  come  from  all 
sides  to  listen  and  walk  about.  The  band  is  dressed  in  wide- 
*  Viscount  Downe  was  A.D.C.  to  the  Duke  of  Cambridge. 


268  THE  LETTERS  OF 

awake  hats  trimmed  with  gold  lace,  blue  coats,  and  yellow 
facings — ^his  own  livery,  buff  breeches  and  gaiters.  They  are 
all  shepherds,  carpenters,  waggonmen,  etc.  etc.,  on  his  estate, 
the  largest  in  Wiltshire — about  40,000  acres. 

We  had  a  horrible  function  at  Sheffield.  I  will  send  you 
a  local  paper  to  tell  you  all  about  it.  The  dinner  was  little 
better  than  ''pig's  wash,"  and  the  oratory  contemptible,  in  a 
great  hall  where  it  was  absolutely  impossible  to  make  yourself 
heard  beyond  the  people  in  your  immediate  vicinity.  Lord 
Londonderry  made  a  very  long  speech  which  no  one  listened  to, 
but  it  was  one  that  will  read  well. 

Harman  tells  me  H.R.H.  had  spoken  to  him  about  making 
Prince  Edward  a  Field-Marshal,  but  he  has  been  dissuaded 
from  doing  so. 


Dublin,  Royal  Hotel,  Kildare  Street, 
2«f^  October  1890. 

Lord  The  brushes  are  beautiful — "  Oh,  what  a  surprise  !  "    The 

oiseiey,  ^^^  ^^^  mo'iX  comfortable  and  very  useful,  for  it  was  cold  in  the 
train.  Thank  you  a  thousand  times  for  your  kind  thought  of 
my  wants  and  comforts,  and  please  tell  Frances  that  I  hope 
her  new  brushes  may  be  as  nice  as  mine.  I  feel  as  if  this  place 
was  entirely  a  foreign  town,  and  I  seem  surprised  to  hear  its 
people  speak  English,  even  though  it  be  with  a  strong  accent. 
Well,  for  my  journey  first.  The  careful  Rayner  was  waiting 
for  me  at  Euston.  I  was  nearly  half  an  hour  before  my  time, 
as  the  roads  were  so  clear  we  came  along  in  excellent  time. 
Very  few  people  up  in  the  "  Old  Kent  Road  "  before  7  a.m.  ; 
no  buses,  no  trams,  and  extremely  few  carts  of  any  sort. 
Childers  and  Cecil  ^  soon  turned  up,  but  the  luggage  and 
servant  of  the  latter  were  nearly  late  :  just  arrived  only 
as  the  engine  whistled  for  starting.  No  events  en  route  :  came 
in  for  storms  of  rain  near  Chester.  Reached  Holyhead,  and 
went  on  board.  Ate  luncheon  on  board  as  soon  as  possible, 
for  we  were  warned  we  should  have  it  rough  outside  the  harbour. 
Lay  down  in  my  cabin  and  read  Butler's  Sir  C.  Napier.  Little 
bits  of  it  might,  as  regards  good  style,  be  taken  out  of  Carlyle. 
It  is  good  and  it  is  bad.     Some  parts  very  good,  but  it  aggravates 

*  Lord  Edward  Cecil,  fourth  son  of  third  Marquis  of  Salisbury,  A.D.C.  to 
Lord  Wolseley  and  Lord  Kitchener,  Finance  Minister  in  Egypt. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  269 

me  occasionally  when  he  magnifies  France  to  depreciate  Eng- 
land. Anything  that  will  tell  against  what  I  prize  most — 
namely,  the  honour  and  reputation  of  our  Empire — ^he  loves 
to  dwell  upon ;  anything  that  can  be  twisted  into  a  glorifica- 
tion of  the  Celtic  race  is  made  to  perform  on  his  stage  and 
lauded  by  a  magniloquent  chorus.  He  writes  very  well, 
and  often  most  touchingly  and  sympathetically,  but  there 
is  always  too  much  straining  after  word-effect,  too  great  a 
consciousness  of  superior  literary  skill.  As  we  drew  up  along- 
side the  pier  at  Kingstown,  it  seemed  to  be  richly  adorned  with 
waving  plumes  and  sword-carrying  warriors  of  all  sorts,  whilst 
behind  there  was  a  Guard  of  Honour  of  the  Royal  Rifles.  The 
reception  was  very  cordial.  The  same  thing.  Guard  of  Honour, 
etc.,  was  repeated  at  the  Railway  Road  Station  in  Dublin, 
where  the  crowd  was  very  considerable. 

CXir  passage  across  the  Channel  was  rough,  but  I  went 
to  sleep  before  the  worst  part.  Young  Cecil  was  ill,  but  he 
does  not  mind  being  ill,  he  says.  The  first  man  I  ever  heard 
say  so. 

P.S. — The  Saxe-Weimars  left  nearly  all  their  baggage — 
personal  luggage — behind  them  in  the  hotel  at  Kingstown, 
where  they  stayed  the  night  before  they  started  for  England. 
How  the  A.D.C.  must  have  caught  it  from  the  Princess  ! 


Avenue  Hotel,  Belfast, 
<)th  October  1890.     6  a,m. 

I  enjoyed  my  visit  to  Armagh.  Lord 

The  Primate  (Knox)  lives  in  the  town  of  Armagh  in  a  charm-  ^°^^^^^' 
ing  little  place  of  about  30  acres.  He  is  a  nice  old  man,  most 
active  and  vigorous,  and  yet  between  eighty  and  ninety  years 
of  age.  He  took  me  over  the  Cathedral,  the  organ — a  very  fine 
one — playing  "  See,  the  Conquering  Hero.*'  I  tell  you  all 
these  little  things  to  amuse  you  and  not  from  any  vanity ;  my 
worst  enemy  cannot  have  a  poorer  opinion  of  myself  than  I 
have.  The  Primate  then  took  me  to  see  the  Roman  Catholick 
(spelt  with  a  K)  Primate.  He  was  absent  on  some  duty,  so 
I  missed  seeing  him,  which  I  regretted  very  much,  as  I  want 
to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  Romish  priests  in  Ireland.  The 
longer  one  lives,  the  more  one  becomes  impressed  with  the  fact 


270  THE  LETTERS  OF 

that  it  is  not  the  form  of  religion  which  a  man  adopts,  but  the 
way  he  carries  out  its  '*  tenets  "  that  makes  him  good  or  bad.  I 
came  on  here  yesterday  evening,  and  was  received  by  a  great 
crowd  at  the  station.  I  am  inundated  with  friendly  invitations 
to  stay  at  country  houses. 


Enniskillen,  16/10/90. 

Lord  This  racket  of  moving  about  with  crowds  to  stare  at  one, 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  escorts  and  guards  of  honour,  may  have  an  attractive  side 
for  some  people,  but  it  has  none  for  me.  I  was  made  for  two 
phases  of  life  only — one  war,  the  other  absolute  quiet  in  a  lovely 
country,  with  good  riding  in  all  directions.  What  an  amusingly, 
provokingly,  inconsequent  people  these  Irish  are  :  untidy  and 
unpunctual  beyond  measure.  The  proverbial  Irishman  always 
wants  a  place  under  Government,  and  as  soon  as  he  gets  one,  he 
wants  to  leave  it  with  a  good  pension,  and  to  do  nothing  the  rest 
of  his  life. 

I  have  just  administered  justice  to  a  Captain  who  was  cer- 
tainly drunk  the  night  I  dined  at  mess  in  Londonderry.  I 
ordered  him  to  leave  the  army  or  be  tried,  and  he  sent  in  his 
papers.  His  Colonel  and  all  his  brother  officers  declared  he  did 
not  drink,  and  pleaded  for  him.  I  should  not  have  been  in- 
fluenced by  their  appeals,  but  the  knowledge  that  he  had  a  very 
poor  mother  and  nothing  but  his  pay  to  live  on,  touched  me — 
I  could  not  bear  to  think  of  the  old  woman,  broken-hearted  and 
in  poverty,  with  a  son  thrown  on  her  hands,  so  I  have  let  him 
off  with  a  severe  wigging.  I  know  it  was  wrong  and  weak  of 
me,  but,  the  old  mother,  she  won. 

Athlone,  18/10/90. 

Lord  I  have  just  received  your  letter,  with  Miss  Moore's  enclosure. 

Woiseiey.  j  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^  ^-^q  has  been  taken  notice  of  by  the  Queen,  and 
I  hope  she  may  often  sing  at  Windsor.  I  am  also  pleased 
to  find  that  there  is  still  some  one  in  the  world  who  is  really 
grateful  even  for  the  small  acts  of  kindness  she  has  received 
from  you,  and  for  the  great  help  you  have  been  in  bringing 
her  into  such  distinguished  notice.  Also  I  open  my  eyes  with 
astonishment  whenever  any  one  halts  in  their  success  to  thank 
me  for  anything  in  more  than  the  most  perfunctory  manner  for 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  271 

having  pushed  them  on,  and  possibly  made  their  whole  career 
for  them. 

Almost  every  newspaper  I  take  up  here  has  an  advertisement 
saying  that  the  Viscountess  W.  thinks  the  Albion  soap  excellent. 
I  send  you  by  this  post  a  paper  with  their  notice  in  it.  Unless 
you  gave  the  fellow  who  makes  this  infernal  soap  permission 
to  publish  your  letter,  I  will  write  to  him  and  forbid  his  inserting 
it  any  longer.  Please  answer  this  when  next  you  write.  How 
about  the  entree  :  ^  did  Sills  find  out  for  certain  that  an  Irish 
P.C.  has  not  the  same  right  in  this  respect  as  an  English  P.C.  ? 
If  so,  it  is  another  "  injustice  to  Ireland,"  is  it  not  ? 

Ra5mer  proves  to  be  a  first-rate  valet.  He  is  always  in  my 
room  before  6  a.m.  with  his  cocoa,  and,  when  I  was  a  little 
seedy,  with  arrowroot,  which  he  made  himself,  and  made  very 
well.  Now  he  lights  my  fire  for  me  before  I  get  up,  so  I  could 
not  travel  under  better  care.  All  my  things  are  well  packed, 
and  nothing  is  ever  late  or  forgotten.  He  is  a  man  of  a  very 
inquiring  mind,  and  visits  all  the  sights  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  those  barracks  where  I  inspect.  No  cathedral  or  place  of 
importance  escapes  him.  He  tells  me  the  Irish  railway  porters 
are  with  difiiculty  induced  to  help  him  with  his  luggage ;  they 
look  lazily  on  whilst  he  pulls  and  hauls  the  portmanteaux 
about. 

I  have  just  returned  from  Gort,  where  Lord  Gough  asked  me 
to  stay.  It  is  curious  to  find  these  troops  of  cavalry,  with  sixty  or 
seventy  big  Englishmen  and  a  couple  of  English  officers,  living  in 
a  filthy  little  village  or  town  as  if  they  were  in  a  foreign  country. 
They  all  seem  to  like  these  detachments,  which  is  still  more 
curious.  Then  the  inevitable  parson,  with  nothing  to  do  but 
preach  to  a  half-empty  church  every  Sunday  and  beget  very 
large  families.  This  morning  we  had  a  local  doctor  thrown  in, 
who  told  us  the  ordinary  news  of  the  place  in  a  most  comical 
way;  but  it  evidently  did  not  occur  to  him  that  there  was 
anything  comical  about  his  manner  or  accent. 


Cahir,  1st  November  1890. 

How  quickly  the  months  slip  by  1 — ^not  an  original  idea  or      Lord 
even  an  unusual  one,  but  a  thought  which  occurs  to  men  of  fifty-  ^°'*^'^- 

'  The  special  Entr6e  at  Buckingham  Padace  accorded  to  Ambassadors, 
Cabinet  Ministers,  great  ofi5cers  of  State,  etc. 


272  THE  LETTERS  OF 

seven.  How  I  used  to  dream  of  the  future,  and  now  I  feel  the 
wave  of  socialism  is  gathering  strength  to  sweep  away  our  old 
landmarks,  when  it  will  be  held  criminal  to  have  capital  or  a 
stake  in  the  country,  when  the  labourer  will  refuse  to  work,  and 
only  insist  on  enjoying  a  share  of  inherited  property.  All  this 
will  lead  to  confusion,  war,  and  internecine  struggles,  which 
may  bring  the  soldiers  to  the  front.  In  the  end  the  man  of 
talk  will  give  way  to  the  man  of  action,  and  the  politician  will 
black  the  boots  of  some  successful  cavalry  colonel.  A  new 
Cromwell  will  clear  the  country  of  frothy  talkers,  and  would 
that  my  lot  could  have  been  cast  in  such  an  era  !  But  the  trap 
is  at  the  door  to  take  me  to  the  station. 

Under-Secretary's  Lodge,  Dublin, 
10/11/90. 

Lord  Balfour  1  came  down  to  dinner  last  night.     I  can't  imagine 

*  ^^'  how  a  man  can  exist  with  so  little  space  allotted  for  boiler  and 
internal  mechanism.  We  had  a  paid  magistrate  to  dinner  who 
had  been  employed  as  a  sort  of  detective  to  worm  out  and  dis- 
cover the  criminals  in  several  of  the  most  brutal  murders.  He 
was  eminently  successful  in  all  he  undertook,  and  was  the  means 
of  bringing  several  of  the  worst  murderers  to  justice.  He  told  us 
how  he  had  done  so,  in  each  case  in  the  form  of  a  connected 
narrative  that  if  written  down  word  for  word  as  he  wrote  it, 
would  be  most  effective  reading.  Of  course  each  story  went 
to  magnify  his  own  adroitness. 

The  King  of  the  Belgians  has  again  fallen  upon  me  and  has 
begun  to  write  to  the  Times. 

W. 

Glenart,  Arklow, 

zith  November  1890. 

Lord  I  have  been  deep  in  Andrew  Lang's  Introduction — ^a  charm- 

oiseiey.  ^^^  y^^  ^^  literature — and  his  story  of  Sir  Stafford  Northcote's 
boyhood  and  early  Hfe.  He  contrives  to  throw  a  charm  over 
his  narrative  that  makes  me  forget  the  subject  of  his  book 
was  so  essentially  my  opposite  (so  much  about  him  of  the 
Tomcat  that  cared  neither  to  fight  nor  make  love)  that  I  never 

1  Right  Hon.  A.  J.  Balfour,  now  Earl  of  Balfour ;  Chief  Secretary, 
1887-91. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  273 

met  him  without  thanking  God,  hke  the  Pharisee,  I  was 
not  as  he  was.  He  would  have  made  an  admirable  chief 
clerk  in  a  bank,  whose  clean,  well-ordered  house  at  Tooting, 
abounding  in  children  and  bubbhng  over  with  propriety  and 
virtue,  would  have  been  the  pattern  for  all  neighbouring  house- 
holders of  detached  or  semi-detached  villas.  I  beheve  his  family 
to  have  been  a  very  ancient  yeoman  family  in  Devonshire,  who 
became  comfortably  rich  by  the  woollen  trade  which  flourished 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Crediton  in  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries. 

Andrew  L.  does  his  job  so  well  that  he  throws  a  halo  of 
heroic  interest  about  a  man  who  was  certainly  filled  with  placid 
virtues  and  wearisome  good  quaUties.  I  am  so  struck  with  his 
power  to  make  the  commonplace  interesting  that  I  felt,  and 
feel,  low  at  the  thought  of  how  utterly  unable  I  am  to  write 
even  about  one  whose  very  name  recalls  national  triumphs, 
and  who,  in  his  day,  was  the  central  figure  in  Europe,  the 
admiration  of  all  women,  the  envy  of  all  men.  If  Lang  only 
knew  as  much  of  Marlborough  as  I  do,  what  an  epic  he  would 
produce  about  him. 


Dublin,  18/11/90. 

I  drove  yesterday  afternoon  to  a  place  called  the  North  Bull      Lord 
at  Clontarf  to  inspect  some  ground  we  hope  to  get  as  a  Rifle   ^o^^^^y- 

Range.    It  is  close  to  where  Lord has  a  place,  and  although 

he  scarcely  ever  Uves  there,  he  has  called  upon  me  to  say  he 
will  oppose  our  shooting  there  with  all  his  might  and  main.  He 
says  he  objects  to  the  smoke — I  told  him  our  powder  will  in 
future  be  smokeless.  His  wife  does  not  hke  the  noise  of  the 
bullets  on  the  target.  His  house  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  where  the  targets  will  be.  This  is  a  man  usually  called 
a  pubhc-spirited  man.  God  help  us  and  preserve  us  from  such 
patriots — ^they  are  worse  than  the  agitators,  for  they  are  more 

selfish.  You  ask  me  about  Lord .  He  never  speaks,  but  looks 

wise,  solemn,  and  mournful ;  he  must,  I  think,  have  committed 
some  crime  in  early  youth,  over  which  he  still  ponders — have 
burnt  his  sister's  doU,  stole  his  brother's  cake,  or  brushed  up  his 
father's  hat  the  wrong  way — some  enormity  of  that  sort  he 
must  have  in  mind,  for  in  no  other  way  can  his  stolid  silence  be 
accounted  for.  He  never  laughs,  and  his  face  is  not  made  for 
18 


274  THE  LETTERS  OF 

smiling.    He  is  very  rich,  with  a  good  EngHsh  property  and  large 
sums  in  the  funds  as  well. 


Castle  Bernard,  Bandon, 
2^th  November  1890. 

Lord  My  room  is  so  cold  that,  sitting  on  the  hearthrug  with  my 

°^^^'^'  back  close  to  a  roaring  fire,  I  still  shiver  all  over.  The  room 
is  large  and  very  well  furnished,  but  as  "  the  family  "  have 
been  from  home  for  several  weeks,  no  fires  seem  to  have  been 
going  in  the  house  and  certainly  not  in  this  room  for  months. 
It  feels  as  if  it  never  could  be  made  warm  again,  especially 
as  most  of  the  heat  from  the  fire  goes  up  the  chimney. 

I  knew  the  Bandons  were  only  coming  home  to-day,  as  she 
told  me  she  would  not  be  home  until  this  date.  She  wrote  from 
Boir  Castle  to  say  she  would  send  a  carriage  if  I  would  tell  her 
the  train.  I  did  not  answer,  as  I  had  to  come  here  to  see  a  bar- 
rack and  a  detachment  of  troops  now  quartered  temporarily  in 
Bandon.  After  I  had  finished  my  work  in  Barracks,  M'Laren  and 
I  drove  here  on  an  outside  car.  It  is  a  lovely  place — ^part  of  the 
house  an  old  castle  of  King  John's  time,  and  covered  with  ivy. 
In  front  the  ground  slopes  down  to  the  river  Bandon,  whilst 
all  round  is  fine  timber.  We  rang  the  bell — ^no  answer — ^pulled 
again,  and,  after  a  long  pause,  heard  bolts  being  undone,  and  a 
curious-looking  creature  with  a  dirty  ragged  shirt,  no  shirt  coUar, 
very  old  clothes,  and  a  pasty  face  appeared.  I  thought  he  was 
the  gardener.  The  great  Rayner  had  to  carry  up  my  port- 
manteaux himself.  He  said  there  was  no  man-servant  in  the 
house  and  only  two  maids.  I  am  sure  he  must  be  wrong,  for 
the  house  is  scrupulously  clean. 

The  servants  may  be  few,  but  the  house  is  delightful :  heaps 
of  old  armour  and  guns,  etc.,  with  scores  of  old  pictures  and  plenty 
of  china  about.  The  man  without  the  shirt  collar  has  since 
appeared  as  an  Irish — ^a  very  Irish — footman.  The  butler,  I 
presume,  was  with  my  lord  as  valet.  The  place  must  cost  a 
great  deal  to  keep  up  ;  how  you  and  I  would  enjoy  it  were  it 
ours  I  But  I  hope,  when  our  ship  comes  in,  our  lines  may  be 
cast  elsewhere  than  in  squahd  Ireland.  Decay  meets  you 
on  all  sides ;  decay  without  any  of  those  associations  that  make 
it  lovable  and  interesting ;  decay  joined  to  dirt,  untidiness,  and 
squalor. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  275 

Castle  Bernard,  Bandon, 
1st  December  1890. 

I:|have  written  to  the  Horse  Guards  to  say  I  want  to  go  Lord 
to  England  for  Xmas.  H.R.H.  will  be  furious  with  me,  but  it  ^°^''^^- 
can't  be  helped.  I  thought  it  better  at  once  to  let  him  know 
that  I  do  not  mean  to  efface  myself.  He  is  angry  also  because 
I  won't  withdraw  a  letter  recommending  the  Staff  in  Ireland 
to  be  reduced  in  number.  The  point  is  one  on  which  I  am  a 
better  judge  than  he  can  be,  and  I  thought  it  necessary  at  once 
to  put  my  foot  down  and  show  him  I  was  not  a  schoolboy  who 
would  recommend  only  what  his  superior  officer  likes. 

Dublin,  3/2/91. 

I  have  just  come  back  from  the  Lev^,  which  was  a  long  Lord 
affair.  I  drove  there  in  our  brougham  with  Cecil  as  A.D.C.,  ^^^^^^y- 
and  an  escort  of  the  4th  Dragoon  Guards  !  There,  just 
fancy  what  you  and  Frances  miss  by  not  being  here !  I  go 
to  the  Drawing-Room  to-morrow  night  also  in  the  same  state. 
In  front  of  the  hotel  this  morning  there  was  quite  a  crowd 
attracted  by  the  big  red  soldiers  on  their  big  horses.  The  entree 
here  is  up  the  most  wretched  steps  of  stairs,  and  the  of&cials 
go  from  the  room  where  the  privileged  assemble  to  another  to 
meet  His  Excellency. 

Lady  Zetland  asked  me  into  her  drawing-room,  where  all 
her  women  friends  were  at  the  windows.  *'  God  save  the 
Queen  "  announced  that  the  Lord-Lieutenant  was  en  route,  so 
I  went  out  and  joined  the  cortege,  marching  immediately 
behind  him.  We  passed  through  the  long  drawing-room  where 
the  women  all  curtseyed  to  His  Excellency.  In  another  room 
I  was  presented  with  all  my  Staff ;  we  then  stood  up  in  a  row  and 
saw  all  the  (very)  general  company  go  by.  I  told  Lady  Zetland 
I  had  lately  used  her  drawing-room  for  our  war  games,  and  that 
we  should  now  use  the  Privy  Council  Room.  She  and  Lady 
Hilda  are  coming  to  see  us  "  play  "  to-morrow. 

After  the  Lev6e  to-day  we  went  into  a  dreary  place  called 
the  Castle  Garden  to  be  photographed.  Then  we  lunched  in 
the  Round  Tower,  the  only  old  part  of  the  Castle.  There 
were  four  large  round  tables ;  I  sat  next  the  Duchess  of 
Leinster. 


276  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Dublin,  6/2/^1.. 

J-ord  Last  night  a  banquet  of  a  hundred  people  in  the  St.  Pat- 

Woiseiey,  j.-^j^»g  YidM,  and  a  small  ball  of  four  hundred  in  the  Throne 
Room  afterwards.  The  banquet  was  very  well  done — ^good 
food  and  excellent  wine.  The  hall  is  all  white  and  gold — 
except  the  ceiling,  on  which  there  are  pictures.  Lord  Zetland  1 
sat  at  the  top  of  the  table,  having  taken  in  the  Duchess 
of  Leinster.  On  his  other  side  sat  his  wife,  whom  the  Duke 
of  Leinster  took  in  ;  then  on  the  left  Lady  Woodford,  Lord 
Ormonde,  Lady  Rosse,  and  Lord  Mayo.  On  the  right  I  took  in 
Lady  Gwendolen  Cecil,  and  on  my  other  side  sat  Lady  Mayo. 

I  only  stayed  until  about  11  p.m.,  and  left  when  the 
ball  was  at  its  height.  There  is  to  be  a  small  dinner 
this  evening  and  a  large  ball  in  St.  Patrick's  Hall,  to  which 
I  have  not  been  invited,  I  am  glad  to  say,  so  I  shall  get 
to  bed  early.  I  did  not  stand  with  what  you  might  call 
the  Court  party  during  the  Drawing-Room,  but  in  "the 
pen,"  just  opposite  the  Lord-Lieutenant,  where  all  the  Irish 
peers  and  peeresses  and  a  host  of  officials,  small  and  large, 
remain.  The  Court  consists,  it  would  seem,  exclusively  of  the 
party  staying  in  the  Castle.  They  marched  in  before  the  Lord- 
Lieutenant  two  and  two.  The  Duchess  of  Leinster  looked  very 
well ;  she  had  three  high  feathers  standing  up  behind  her  tiara, 
forradng  an  exact  Prince  of  Wales'  plume.  Lady  Zetland's  1 
train  was  held  up  by  two  very  small  boy  pages,  dressed 
in  the  St.  Patrick's  blue  silk.  I  have  told  Childers  to  find 
out  if  it  is  necessary  for  me  to  go  to  the  other  Drawing- 
Room,  for,  as  I  don't  form  part  of  the  pageant,  I  don't  see  why 
I  should  go.  In  the  afternoon  I  mean  to  walk  out  and  have 
tea  with  Miss  Balfour  and  Lady  Gwendolen  Cecil. 

Harman  tells  me  the  Prince  of  Wales  is  annoyed  with  Buller 
for  postponing  all  military  action  until  the  civil  trial  of  this 
gambUng  case  comes  off  some  months  hence.  The  Prince 
said,  "  I  wish  we  had  Wolseley  back  again."  Harman  wants  to 
go  to  Gibraltar ;  the  Duke  won't  let  him  go,  as  he  says  he  can't 
face  a  new  Military  Secretary.  You  have  not  heard  of  me  in 
public  since  I  have  been  in  Ireland,  so,  if  silence  wins,  I  ought  to 
be  winning.  Out  at  manoeuvres  all  this  morning.  I  dine  to- 
night with  the  Grenadiers. 

1  First  Marquis  of  Zetland  (b.  1844,  still  living) ;  Viceroy,  1889-92. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  277 

Carton,  Maynooth, 

22/2/91. 

"  Entre  deux  repas  "  is  a  very  fair  paraphrase  of  your      Lord 
friend's  description  of  life  in  a  country  house.    This  I  write  just   ^°^^^^' 
before  dressing  for  dinner,  having  only  lately  finished  a  sub- 
stantial  tea.    That   followed   upon   a   still   more   substantial 
luncheon.    I  was  asked  here  with  Edward  Cecil  for  three  or  four 
days ;  but  as  I  was  engaged  to  dine  out  yesterday  and  to-morrow, 
I  came  here  this  morning — ^in  time  for  church — and  get  to 
Dublin  for  a  military  lecture  to-morrow.     Cecil  has  a  bad  foot, 
hurt  playing  golf  with  Arthur  Balfour;  he  has  to  lie  up  and 
be  quiet  until  it  is  well.     This  is  a  truly  lovely  place.     Eleven 
hundred   acres  within  the   park  walls  ;   beautiful  water  and 
timber  everywhere,  and  the  house  itself  filled  with  delightful 
furniture  and  pictures — Sir  J.  Reynolds,  Wissing,  Cuyp,  etc. — 
and  a  delightful  portrait  of  the  Duchess  over  the  fireplace  in  the 
dining-room.     The  ruins  of  the  old  castle  stand  in  the  grounds 
of  the   College  for   priests,  over  which   I  was  taken  by  the 
Principal :    a  charming  man  without  any  brogue,  and  in  face 
quite  like  an  EngHshman.    They  have  just  finished  a  new  church, 
beautiful  in  its  colouring.    The  very  fine  organ,  in  a  gallery  at  the 
west  end  of  the  building,  is  played  in  the  body  of  the  church  by 
a  German  priest,  and  played  delightfully.    Our  company  here  in 
the  house  is  :   Mrs.  Gerard  Leigh,  as  usual  beautifully  dressed, 
her  tea-gown  a  pale  rose-pink,  with  a  white  front ;  the  Duchess, 
who  has  already  had  on  three  gowns ;  her  sister,  married  about 
eighteen  months  ago,  and  the  husband — I  did  not  catch  their 
names.  Then  we  have  the  Colonel  commanding  the  3rd  Battalion 
Grenadier  Guards,  whose  name  I  never  can  remember,  although 
I  know  him  well,  and  the  Italian  Consul-General  in  Dublin,  Count 
Something.    Lady  Fingal  was  here  when  I  came,  but  went  away 
after  luncheon.     She  is  a  Catholic,  a  nice,  pretty  little  woman, 
very  fond  of  hunting,  and  her  maiden  name  was  Murphy. 
There  is  also  a  young  Guardsman  here  whose  name  I  don't 
know ;  and  one  of  the  Duke's  spinster  sisters,  whose  Christian 
name,  I  think,  is  Maude — age,  say  thirty-five,  and  unmarried ; 
she  is  going  round  the  world  in  one  of  George  Stephen's  ships, 
which  starts  early  in  April  or  end  of  March. 

With  such  a  home  as  this,  I  wonder  how  any  one  can  care 
to  go  philandering  to  London  every  season. 


278  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Dublin,  27/2/91. 

Lord  Your  letter  with  Morning  Post  extract  just  received.     I  have 

^  ^  y'  had  no  official  notice  that  I  am  to  be  one  of  the  Generals  on 

Selection  Board,  but  I  don't  see  how  I  can  be  passed  over  ;  it 

will  only  meet  at  long  intervals  to  decide  about  Colonels  and 

Generals. 

As  I  did  not  go  to  any  of  the  recent  dances  at  the  Castle, 
I  went  last  night  to  see  their  powdered  ball.  It  was  very 
pretty,  and  would  have  been  very  good  were  it  not  for  the  crowd, 
which  was  ridiculous.  I  came  away  at  11.30  before  supper, 
and  then  all  real  dancing  seemed  impossible.  To  get  to 
the  door  from  where  the  dais  was,  a  big  burly  A.D.C.  cleared 
a  passage  for  me  by  shoving  the  men  and  women  back  as  a 
policeman  would  do  with  a  crowd  of  street  loiterers.  I  danced 
to  please  Lady  Zetland  vis-d-vis  to  her  with  Lady  Bandon. 

I  have  been  photographed  by  two  men  here.  I  have  only 
seen  one,  and  it  is  simply  odious.  They  have  smoothed  out 
all  the  wrinkles  and  taken  away  from  my  hideous  face  every 
shade  of  character  it  possesses.  Perhaps  you  will  say,  my 
character  is  so  bad  that  the  photographer  has  done  me  a 
great  service.  However,  like  Cromwell,  who  threatened 
Cooper  with  hanging  if  he  omitted  his  moles  and  wrinkles,  I 
like  to  be  shown  ugly  as  Nature  made  me,  and  not  painted  over 
like  a  disreputable  harridan  with  all  the  wrinkles  smoothed 
out  with  paste  and  powder. 

Moore  Abbey,  Monasterevan, 
1st  March  1891. 

wA^f  I  h^-ve  just  come  here  with  little  M'Laren.      I  ought   to 

Wolseley.   .  .      ■,         ■,  .     r  .        .     i^   ,  ,.     ,       . 

have  come  yesterday,  but  a  gynmastic  function  in  Dublin  ke^t 

me  up  until  past  midnight.     The  house  is  cold,  for  they  burn 

nothing   but   turf.     Alongside   my  grate  is  a  huge  tub,  2J 

feet   high   at    least,   in  which    the   turf   is    kept.     It    must 

give   the    servants  a  great  deal  of  labour  to   carry  up  the 

cubic    yards    burnt    daily  in    each    bedroom.      The    "  oldest 

inhabitant  "  tells  me  no  such  mild  and  fine  winter  has  ever 

been  known  in  Ireland  in  man's  memory.     There  was  a  very 

small  dance  at  the  Castle  the  evening  after  the  Bal  Poudre — I 

tell  you  this  so  that  you  should  know  what  to  expect  in  the 

dancing  line  next  winter.   I  hope  the  Zetlands  may  still  be  here. 

I  did  receive  the  telegram  from  New  York,  but  I  refused  to 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  279 

be  drawn — no  cheque  was  offered.  I  am  now  about  to  write 
my  opinion  of  General  Sherman  for  United  Service  Magazine, 
which  will  give  me  £50. 

Carton,  Maynooth,  Sunday. 

P.S. — I  was  delighted  with  the  article  in  the  French  news-  Lord 
paper  on  Napoleon  which  you  wished  me  to  send  on  to  Mr.  Lang.  ^°^^^^y- 
It  is  a  sort  of  critique  on  M.  Taine's  work,  Les  Origines  de  la 
France  Contemporaine.  I  wish  you  would  get  the  other  volume 
(I  think  it  is  called  Le  Regime  Moderne)  from  the  London 
Library,  and  if  the  book  (price  5s.)  is  good  you  could  buy  the 
vol.  on  Napoleon  and  send  it  to  me.  I  see  in  the  papers  a 
notice  of  a  book  just  pubHshed — Mrs.  Osborn's  Letters.  The 
lady  was  bom  in  1693  and  married  in  1710.  Please  ask 
Frances  to  look  over  it  and  see  if  there  is  any  reference  to 
Marlborough,  his  wife,  or  any  of  the  Churchill  family  in  it. 

Dublin,  April  Fools'  Day,  1891. 

I  had  to  take  25s.  worth  of  tickets  in  the  Water  Colour      Lord 
Exhibition  raffle,  and  have  won  a  £5  prize.     The  world  must  be      '^  ^  Ly- 
coming to  an  end  when  I  win  anything. 

Tell  Frances  that  a  Mr.  Olphert  (who  is  a  collector)  has 
promised  to  send  me  a  hamper  of  cuttings  and  flowers.  He  had 
a  daffodil  in  his  buttonhole  last  night  which  was  pure  white  : 
he  tells  me  it  is  indigenous  in  Ireland  and  nowhere  else. 

Yesterday  I  was  the  only  male  at  Powerscourt  who  re- 
mained at  home ;  the  others  went  to  Dublin  to  the  Cattle 
Show.  Lady  Powerscourt  and  Lady  Stopford  went  out  driving, 
and  bumped  my  body  to  the  foot  of  the  Sugarloaf  Mountain, 
and  there  dropped  me,  both  declaring  I  should  never  get  to  the 
top  of  it.  Of  course,  that  was  enough  to  make  me  go  there, 
and  go  I  did.  It  is  about  1700  or  1800  feet  high.  I  mounted  the 
sheltered  side,  striking  out  a  path  for  myself.  My  fat  sides 
ached  occasionally,  and  my  heart  beat  unpleasantly  fast  at 
times,  but  on  the  conical  top  of  the  mountain  I  was  well  repaid, 
for  a  more  lovely  view  I  never  saw.  Far  out  to  sea  there  was 
a  mist,  so  I  did  not  see  Wales,  but  looking  south,  along  a 
stretch  of  golden  sand,  stood  Arklow  Head,  with  the  bluest 
of  blue  seas  intervening  ;  looking  inland  were  all  the  picturesque- 
looking  Wicklow  Mountains,  many  of  them  patched  here  and 
there  with  moor — heather-covered  at  other  places,  and  at  some 


28o  THE  LETTERS  OF 

points  covered  with  young  pine  woods  which  Powerscourt  has 
planted.  Lord  Monck's  house,  Charleville,  was  beneath  me, 
also  another  square-looking  residence  in  which  live  two  maiden 
ladies,  very  rich,  surrounded  by  lovely  things  collected  by  their 
brother.  Looking  north  from  my  vantage  ground  was  the  Bay 
of  Dublin,  and  the  blue  sea  beyond  Howth.  I  lay  down  in  the 
sun  and — ^went  to  sleep. 

I  took  a  bee-line  home  through  hedges  and  over  ditches, 
and  when  near  Powerscourt  I  was  brought  up  by  a  river  with 
no  bridge  over  it.  No  one  to  ask,  and  it  was  getting  late,  so, 
as  I  don't  clean  my  own  boots,  and  was  very  pleasantly  warm, 
I  walked  through  the  river,  the  cold  water  of  which  was  very 
agreeable.  Father  Healy  came  to  dinner,  and  poked  fun  at 
Mr.  Fowell  Buxton,  the  Norfolk  Radical  and  Home  Ruler. 

KiLDARE  Street  Club,  Dublin, 
25/4/91. 
Lord  I  have  just  come  back  from  the  races  at  Leopardstown  ;  the 

^  ^^  ^■^'  day  was  very  fine,  and  the  place  was  very  full.  I  lunched  both 
days  with  the  Viceregal  party.  Yesterday  Lady  Zetland  and 
several  ladies  ;  to-day,  only  men.  I  struck  up  a  pleasant 
acquaintance  with  Lady  Suffolk.  The  men  are  all  racing 
characters,  and  talk  of  nothing  but  the  odds  and  racing  gossip, 
which  bores  me  beyond  measure ;  and  I  cannot  help  showing  it, 
I  am  afraid. 

I  sent  a  telegram  this  morning  to  the  German  Emperor 
-  expressing  my  sympathy  with  him  at  his  loss  in  Von  Moltke. 
The  idea  came  from  Colonel  Swaine,  who  assured  me  it  would  be 
acceptable.  I  have  been  bombarded  with  applications  to  write 
an  article  on  Von  Moltke.  I  should  like  to  do  one  for  the  Con- 
temporary. Could  you  ask  Gosse  ^  if  words  that  used  to  be  spelled 
with  a  z — such  as  "  Civilization  " — should  now  be  spelt  with  an 
s.  Also  the  past  participle  of  words  like  spell — ^should  we  now 
write  spelt  or  spelled  ? 

The  Royal  Hospital,  Dublin, 
zst  May  1891. 

Lord  I  feel  I  am  wasting  my  short  spell  of  life.     I  am  quite 

0  se  ey.  ^^q^q^q^  j-q  ^y^  away  from  you,  for  active  service,  or  any  "  odd 
job,"  but  here  life  is  uninteresting  and  very  uncomfortable. 
1  Edmund  Gosse,  C.B.,  an  intimate  friend"of  Lord  and  Lady  Wolseley. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  281 

Last  night  I  was  at  St.  Helen's,  the  Goughs'  place  near 
Blackrock — the  best  chef  I  have  sampled  and  perhaps  the 
nicest  house  here.  Lady  Gough  has  promised  to  send  me  some 
flowers  for  our  garden.     I  beg  wherever  I  go. 

Did  I  tell  you  about  Tuesday's  dinner  ?  Always  a  squeeze 
there — too  many  people  at  table  for  its  size — cooking  vile, 
wine  filth.  Mr.  Martin,  who  composed  and  wrote  "Bally- 
hooley  "  and  other  Irish  songs  of  that  same  character,  sat  on 
the  other  side  of  me,  and  Father  Healy — the  wittiest  man  I  know 
— ^and  Mr.  Mahaffy  opposite. 

The  Emperor  has  telegraphed  to  me  : 

"  Your  kind  sympathy  has  deeply  touched  my  sorely  stricken 
heart.  The  blow  is  as  unexpected  as  it  is  severe.  He  was  my 
trusted  and  intimate  friend,  my  grandfather's  glorious  com- 
panion-in-arms, and  the  most  faithful  and  obedient  servant  to 
all  of  us.  A  few  minutes  before  his  death  he  won  his  last  game 
of  whist  in  completely  beating  his  adversaries.  Let  this  be  a 
good  omen  for  the  future.  William,  I.R." 


13/5/91. 

I  have  just  come  in  from  a  long,  soUtary  walk,  and  I  felt  „,f,^f^ 
a  little  down  in  my  luck — old  age  coming  on,  perhaps. 

I  had  hoped  to  have  had  one  more  campaign,  but  I  have 
now  no  chance  of  serving  again  in  the  field.  This  thought  is  like 
one  of  those  disagreeable  people  who  call  you  **  an  old  friend," 
and  use  the  position  to  make  themselves  thoroughly  disagree- 
able. I  had  always  wished  to  be  shot,  and  buried  with  other 
brave  men  by  surviving  comrades,  but  a  cursed  undertaker  will 
have  to  deal  with  me. 

Yesterday  morning  I  rode  to  the  Dublin  Islington  Exhibition 
buildings,  where  a  MiUtary  Tournament  comes  off  in  aid  of  Irish 
Mihtary  Charities.  We  have  a  large  building  fitted  up  with 
old  armour  which  is,  later,  to  be  placed  in  the  Great  Hall  at  the 
Royal  Hospital.  Then  I  went  with  Spencer  Childers  by  tram  to 
Lucan.  From  there,  Colonel  Dean,  who  is  Chamberlain  to  the 
Lord-Lieutenant,  drove  us  on  to  his  house  at  Celbridge,  an  old 
house,  apparently  built  on  the  ruins  of  an  old  abbey  which  stood 
on  the  banks  of  the  Liffey.  It  will  have  a  great  interest  for 
you,  because   it   was  poor   Vanessa's  house    (the   Vanhomrigh 


Wolseley. 


282  THE  LETTERS  OF 

woman) .  The  room — ^now  a  book-room — ^where  Swift  strode  in 
to  Vanessa  and  threw  her  letter  to  Stella  on  the  floor,  and  then 
stalked  out,  never  again  to  see  her,  is,  they  say,  just  as  it  was  in 
Swift's  time. 

Royal  Hotel,  Fermoy, 
17/5/91. 
Lord  I  write  this  at  my  usual  early  hour  in  the  morning.     The 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  gjjs  my  room  with  Ught  to  a  dazzling  intensity.  I  remember 
writing  to  you — I  think  it  was  last  year — from  this  same  hotel, 
and  telling  you  of  the  watchman  or  men  who  call  out  the  hours 
here  at  night  and  tell  you  how  the  weather  is.  I  heard  a  fellow 
do  this  last  night  at  midnight  and  again  this  morning  at  5  a.m. 
A  nice  old  custom  that  by  and  by  will  be  disestablished  when 
the  low  fools  who  now  constitute  a  considerable  proportion  of 
the  House  of  Commons  have  abolished  reUgion,  perhaps  God, 
and  everything,  the  contemplation  of  which  feeds  our  mind 
with  a  sort  of  reverence  and  spiritual  brain  food. 

This  is  a  remarkably  clean  little  town  for  Ireland.  At  least, 
the  place  where  the  hotel  is  situated  is  trim  and  tidy,  and  unlike 
this  dirty  Paddyland.  Many  EngHsh  fishermen  come  here  for 
the  season  usually,  but  last  summer  and  spring  were  so  dry, 
and  the  rivers  now  are  so  low,  that  men  having  stayed  here  a 
few  days  fly  from  it.  We  sleep  here  to-night  and  go  back  to 
Dublin  to-morrow  evening  via  Templemore,  where  I  inspect. 
I  dined  with  an  old  Battalion  last  night  that  has  been  destroyed 
twice  :  once  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century  and  once  again  in 
1840  or  1841 — I  forget  which — ^in  Afghanistan.  The  last  event 
is  one  of  the  earliest  pubUc  occurrences  I  can  remember.  It  was 
during  the  retreat  from  Cabul— their  Colonel  was  a  martinet, 
whom  the  men  hated,  and  when  riding  out  of  the  Royal  Barracks 
in  Dublin  a  few  years  afterwards,  his  horse  shied  and  threw  him 
when  the  Guard  turned  out.  He  was  killed  on  the  spot,  and 
his  men  are  said  to  have  turned  out  and  given  three  cheers  when 
they  heard  of  it. 

Faskally,  Pitlochry,  N.B., 

25/5/91. 

Lord  A  profound  secret — ^not  to  be  told  to  any  one  but  Frances. 

Woiseiey,  Stephen  is  to  be  made  a  peer  !     I  have  seen  Lord  Salisbury's 

letter  telling  him  of  it.     He  has  not  yet  chosen  his  title,  so  I 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  283 

don't  suppose  it  can  be  in  the  Birthday  Gazette,  but  he  means 
to  be  Lord  Mount  Stephen,  of  Canada. 

Mount  Stephen,  called  after  him,  is  the  highest  point  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  through  which  his  railroad  runs.  I  think 
the  idea  is  a  very  good  one. 

Write  to  Lady  Stephen  at  once  and  congratulate  her,  telling 
her  how  much  we  appreciate  having  been  told  the  news  in 
confidence. 


KiLDARE  Street  Club,  Dublin, 
12/6/91. 

Last  night  I  dined  at  the  King's  Inn  with  all  the  judges  Lord 
and  lawyers — old  Ashbourne  in  the  chair.  He  made  an  ^oiseiey. 
amusing  speech  in  proposing  my  health,  having  told  me  there 
were  to  be  no  speeches.  How  entirely  different  the  ways, 
customs,  mode  of  life  and  way  of  looking  at  life  of  all  classes 
here  from  their  prototypes  in  England  ! — and  the  lawyers  are 
no  exception.  There  is  still  a  great  deal  of  rollicking  fun  about 
them,  of  which  Englishmen  know  nothing.  To-morrow  I  make 
another  careful  inspection  of  our  future  home,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  take  you  over  the  latest  news  as  to  its  condition.  I  like 
that  description  of  the  "  smart  "  women  nowadays.  I  could 
forgive  even  their  dullness  if  they  had  any  goodness  of  heart. 
No  wonder  that  men  who  can  enjoy  the  society  of  the  pro- 
fessional cocotte  for  a  few  sovereigns  should  fight  shy  of  her 
amateur  imitator.  I  am  glad  they  have  at  least  given  up 
calling  their  lot  "  good  society,"  for  the  adjective  would  be 
much  out  of  place. 


Royal  Hospital,  Kilmainham,  Dublin, 
28/6/91. 

Yesterday  evening  at  the  Ridgeways  we  played  for  shillings      Lord 
at  a  sort  of  whirhgig  racing  game.     There  must  be  something      ^  ^  *^* 
dreadful  in  store  for  me,  for  I  won  an  old  spinning-wheel  in  a 
lottery  last  week,  and  some  six  or  seven  shillings  last  night. 

Cecil  tells  me  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Wales  have  intimated 
their  wilUngness  to  be  invited  to  Hatfield,  Perhaps  that  will 
so  crowd  the  house  that  we  may  be  put  off. 


284    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

Royal  St.  George  Yacht  Club, 
Kingstown,  Ireland, 

3/7/91. 

Lord  This  place  reminds  me  of  the  day  I  embarked  here  for  the 

oiseiey.  (^j^j^g^^  November  19,  1854.  I  can  see  my  dear  mother  as  she 
sat  on  a  grassy  bank  near  this  club  and  cried  as  I  marched 
past  her  with  my  Company. 

Did  I  tell  you  that  I  go  every  Sunday  now  to  Christ  Church 
Cathedral,  where  I  sit  in  the  stalls  behind  the  choir  and  enjoy 
the  music  very  much  ?  I  am  sorry  to  say  we  shall  be  cut  out 
of  our  Chapel  at  the  Royal  Hospital  for  some  time,  as  the  Board 
of  Works  have  begun  to  put  a  new  roof  on  it.  In  the  meantime, 
service  will  be  held  every  Sunday  in  the  Great  Hall,  where 
benches  and  a  hundred  of  our  chairs  have  been  put  out  to 
accommodate  the  cavalry  regiment  that  goes  there  every  Sunday. 
It  is  a  great  bore  having  this  work  going  on  close  to  our  house, 
for  it  stops  up  the  roadway  round  our  side  of  the  hospital.  All 
visitors  will  therefore  have  to  turn  their  carriages  near  our  front 
door,  which  cannot  fail  to  cut  up  the  drive  very  much.  Where 
shall  we  have  our  sentry  ? 


The  Royal  Hospital,  Dublin, 
6/7/91. 

^ord  A  wet  day,  with  bright  intervals,  but  it  poured  on  me  when 

^'  out  riding  this  morning.  I  have  just  been  to  see  Detaille's 
**  Vive  I'Empereur."  The  charge  of  the  French  Red  Hussars, 
and  Napoleon  in  the  distance  looking  on.  A  fine  picture,  and 
it  appeals  to  me  very  much.  I  would  infinitely  prefer  to  lead 
some  forlorn  hope  than  to  have  written  a  Macaulay  history  or 
any  poem  that  Browning  ever  penned. 

By  the  bye,  if  Lady  Salisbury  asks  you  about  the  Zohrabs, 
say  he  was  an  Armenian,  A.D.C.  to  the  Khedive,  and  on  my  staff 
at  Tel-el-Kebir  and  up  the  Nile  ;  that  he  married  a  French 
actress  ;  and  that  both  were  nice  people  in  whom  I  took  a  great 
interest. 


I 890- I 893 

CHAPTER  XX 


Marienbad,  4/8/90. 

We  got  here  at  three  yesterday  afternoon,  having  left  Cologne  Lady 
at  five  the  afternoon  before.  We  were  turned  out  every  hour  ^  ^^' 
regularly  till  we  got  to  Wurzburg,  then  three  hours*  run  to 
Marienbad,  then  out  again  !  It  was  awfully  tiring,  and  just 
like  being  punished  for  some  offence  by  not  being  allowed  to 
sleep.  To-day  we  went  to  Dr.  Ott,  and  had  to  wait  for  two  hours 
to  see  him.  He  said  to  Frances,  "  You  are  much  better  looking 
than  last  year,"  meaning  ** looking  better."  How  agreeable 
broken  English  is  I  I  have  had  a  shriek  from  the  Colonel  to  get 
rooms  for  his  "  tired  wife  and  daughter,"  and  have  succeeded 
in  getting  them  some  in  this  hotel.  He  is  excellent,  but 
an  intolerable  anecdotist.  Everything  "  reminds  "  him  of 
something. 

Tell  me  all  about  Osborne  and  the  Emperor.     What  a  trial 
the  yacht  would  be  to  me  ! 

10/8/90. 

We  see  the  German  Emperor  greeted  you  **  with  great  Lady 
warmth."  Do  describe  the  whole  affair.  I  was  so  unwell  ^^^^^^y^ 
to-day  I  had  Ott  twice  to  see  me.  The  waters  are  not  acting, 
went  to  my  head,  my  face  was  crimson,  and  my  body  as  hot  as 
a  red-hot  brick.  He  gave  me  remedies,  but  I  am  to  keep  very 
quiet  and  not  drink  again  for  some  days.  It  is  provoking,  as  it 
wastes  time. 

Mr.  P.  Stanhope  ^  and  his  Russian  wife  have  arrived,  and 

*  Hon.  Philip  Stanhope,  created  Lord  Weardale. 
285 


286 


THE  LETTERS  OF 


I  saw  Lord  and  Lady drive  in,  looking  like  a  dusty  butler 

and  cook-housekeeper. 

I  consulted  the  Campbell-Bannermans  about  the  See's 
Lodge,  but  she  said,  "  I  would  advise  you  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it/*  She  thinks  it  very  damp,  so  much  so  that  some  of  the 
back  rooms  could  never  be  used.  He  thought  the  drainage  and 
water  very  defective.  He  said  before  they  went  there  a  great 
deal  had  been  laid  out  on  the  drains,  and  magnificent  stone 
drains  put,  but  no  system  arranged  for  flooding  them.  He  also, 
while  there,  went  into  the  water  question,  and  the  Dublin 
authorities  made  out  the  supply  was  most  pure.  He,  however, 
traced  it  to  its  source,  and  discovered  the  pump  was  in  a 
festoon  of  cesspools.  Still  the  B.  of  Works  wrote  a  report  pro- 
claiming it  to  be  perfectly  safe,  but  appended  an  amusing 
minute  to  the  paper :  "  It  is  recommended  that  the  pump 
handle  should  be  removed  **  ! 


Lady 
Wolseley. 


Lady 


Sunday. 

The  Bishop  burst  into  my  room  at  nine  last  night  to  have  a 
chat — ^knocking  but  not  waiting  for  yes  or  no.  Luckily  we  were 
only  at  tea.  To-day  he  is  tamed,  and  tied  by  his  episcopal 
duties. 

15/8/90. 

I  am  restored  to  health  by  a  very  strong  Viennese  remedy,  a 
olseiey.  (jg^oction  of  laurel  lea,ves—you  ought  to  use  it  ! — ^which  no 
Austrian  stomach  can  resist.  My  British  one  did  for  many 
days.  .  .  .  Ott  says  my  constitution  has  entirely  changed 
since  last  year.  I  asked  what  would  cause  it ;  he  said  much  going 
out,  dinners,  etc.,  insufficient  exercise,  and  autumn  of  life.  I  do 
so  hate  the  drinking  crowd  in  the  morning  that  to-day  I  was 
out  at  5.30.  One  is  pretty  safe  from  them  till  6.15  ;  after  that, 
it  is  a  mob.  Then  I  came  home,  tubbed,  and  dressed,  and 
Frances  and  I  went  off  to  a  distant  Hohe  —  a  real  country 
one,  out  of  the  pine  woods,  and  with  a  lovely  view  and  such 
delicious  air. 

Did  I  tell  you  ^GalHff et  ^  is  here  ?  The  gallant  fellow  is  so 
patched  and  pieced  that  if  he  grew  fat  he  would  burst,  and  could 
never  be  patched  again,  so  he  keeps  himself  down.     I  found 

1  General  Galliffet  (i  830-1 909),  famous  cavalry  leader  and  Minister 
for  War,  1900. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  287 

him  very  pleasant.  Colonel  Colville  thinks  his  French  most 
difficult  to  understand,  but  I  did  not  find  any  difficulty.  He 
told  me  he  knew  an  "  admiration  "  of  yours,  "  une  personne 
assez  originale  avec  une  fille  qui  s'occupe  du  Primrose  League." 
I  guessed  Lady  Dorothy  at  once.  He  told  me  he  had  embrassS*d 
her  somewhere ;  I  did  not  quite  follow  the  story,  but  it  must 
have  been  forfeits,  I  think,  for  he  was  told  to  do  it,  and  con- 
sented if  it  was  done  "sous  la  lampe."  I  told  him  you  and 
Lady  D.  had  lovers*  quarrels,  and  that  she  employed  me  to 
bring  you  back  to  her.  He  said,  "  Oh  !  Madame,  c'est  un  joli 
metier  que  vous  faites."  Colonel  Colville^  told  me  he  wanted 
to  introduce  Galliffet  to  some  American  women  the  other  day, 
but  he  said,  "  Je  ne  fais  pas  de  connaissances.  D'ailleurs  je 
n'aime  pas  les  Americaines,  ce  ne  sont  pas  des  femmes  ce  sont 
des  hommes  d'affaires."  All  this  is  very  trivial,  but  it  comes 
under  my  pen.  He  weighs  ten  stone  now,  but  in  Paris  over 
eleven.  He  eats  most  sparsely,  and  walks  about  in  flannels  and 
a  waterproof  to  "  transpirer."  His  wound  makes  it  difficult  to 
him  to  get  on  a  horse,  but  once  on  it  he  is  all  right,  but  is  bound 
up  in  some  silver  "  appareil."     He  did  not  tell  me  all  this  1 

I  long  to  eat  my  food  in  my  bedroom,  as  I  get  tired  of  the 
smoking  and  spitting  and  juggling  peas  and  onions  down  their 
throats,  downstairs. 

The  English  post  seemed  to  go  wrong  yesterday.  I  only  got 
my  papers  at  night  instead  of  in  the  morning.  We  went  to 
the  theatre  to  see  Fra  Diavolo,  which  was  laughable  enough, 
and  an  English  milord  and  his  wife  were  made  great  fun  of. 
The  lord  was  the  image  of  Mr.  Godman.  This  morning,  in 
consequence  of  only  getting  to  bed  at  ten  instead  of  nine,  I 
did  not  get  up  !  so  I  lost  my  last  chat  with  dear  Galliffet,  who 
leaves  to-day.  Yesterday  morning  he  was  very  interesting. 
He  told  me  about  his  education,  carried  on  at  a  seminary  by 
Monseigneur  Dupanloup.  Mgr  D.  made  the  boys  confess  and 
communicate  every  week — which  is  usually  only  done  in  the 
case  of  priests.  Before  receiving  the  Holy  Communion,  they 
had  to  declare  "  contrition  parfaite  " — ^that  is,  sincere  regret  for 
anything  they  had  done.  He  said  as  his  faults  were  only  boyish 
faults  of  eating  too  much  tart,  he  would  not  express  regret — "  au 
contraire  je  d^ire  seulement  de  recommencer,"  and  so  he  was 

^Colonel  the  Hon.  Sir  William  Colville,  brother  of  first  Viscount 
Colville. 


288  THE  LETTERS  OF 

expelled.  He  spoke  very  nicely  of  religion,  comparing  ours 
with  his,  and  saying  the  priests  were  the  drawback  to  his  religion, 
but  that  he  thought  it  "  une  religion  plus  consolatrice  "  than 
ours.  He  spoke  so  feelingly  about  religion — ^with  no  sneer  at 
it — ^that  I  asked  him  if  it  were  true,  taking  himself,  for  instance, 
as  an  example,  that  Frenchmen  had  no  religion,  or  at  all  events, 
never  went  inside  a  church ;  and  he  said  it  was  quite  true,  and, 
that  though  he  had  a  religion  of  his  own,  he  never  went  to 
church.  Then  he  compared  the  value  of  Englishmen  and 
Frenchmen.  He  thinks  as  individuals  PYenchmen  are  worth 
more,  are  more  intelligent  and  logical  in  their  views,  but  in  a 
mass  they  are  worth  nothing,  whereas  English  public  opinion  is 
most  excellent.  I  think  he  has  a  great  opinion  of  his  own 
opinion.  I  should  say  he  was  proud  of  his  own  reputation ; 
but  he  talks  like  a  man  who  thinks,  and  so  is  interesting. 

Campbell -B.  told  me  he  heard  Galliffet  had  given  the  following 
advice  to  the  young  Due  d'Orleans  as  to  his  conduct  in  life  : 
"  Pas  de  collage,  pas  d'aventures,  pas  de  gomme." 

To  fly  off  to  scandals,  let  me  tell  you  that  the  foreign 
Countess  continues  to  have  rows  with  every  one.  We  see  and 
hear  her  having  them  with  the  waiters  at  dinner.  She  screams 
with  rage  and  calls  people  and  things  by  every  abusive  name. 
She  had  a  great  row  in  a  shop  the  other  day  and  called  the 
shopman  a  "  dirty  Jew."  He  sent  for  a  policeman,  who  marched 
her  home,  she  voluble  with  abuse  and  a  crowd  following.  The 
man  has  summoned  her,  and  they  hope  to  settle  it  before  the 
burgomaster  and  not  go  into  court. 

17/8/90. 

Lady  Last  night  I  took  a  box  for  the  theatre  and  invited  our  friends 

oise  ey.  ^^  repay  them  the  supper  they  would  give  us.  They  are  irre- 
pressibly  friendly.  They  wanted  us  to  sup  after  the  theatre. 
We  wouldn't.  They  wanted  us  to  take  tea  there  to-day.  We 
won't.  They  lend  me  stupid  novels  which  I  can't  read,  and 
then  question  me  about  them.  I  return  you  Lord  W.'s  letter — 
you  may  like  it  for  dates.  We  are  going  to  hear  a  Wagner 
concert  by  the  band,  so  as  to  have  an  alibi  for  the  tea.  It 
rains  all  day  and  every  day.  We  continue  to  find  the 
Campbell-B.'s  quite  the  nicest  people  here. 

Did  you  see  an  article  in  the  Times  about  "  Love  me,  love 
my  dog  "  ?     /  think  it  so  easy  to  love  the  dog,  and  so  hard  to 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  289 

love  the  people.  You  never  mention  our  three  angels  !  How 
are  they  ?  Please  ascertain  their  views  about  the  Lodge.  I 
hope  you  are  well  fed,  and  that  the  maids  get  up  early  and  keep 
you  clean.     Who  went  to  Osborne  with  you  ? 

About  Greenwich.  I  would,  if  I  were  you,  write  to  the 
excellent  Cowell,  and  tell  him  what  you  will  be  out  of  pocket  a 
year  by  taxes  and  gardens  at  Ranger's  House,  and  say  you  would 
like  to  let  it  or  lend  it  to  some  one  who  would  relieve  you  of 
those  expenses.  It  is  much  better  to  be  quite  open,  and  if  he  does 
not  judge  it  necessary,  he  will  not  mention  it  to  H.  M. ;  but  as 
he  said  strongly  we  ought  not  to  let  or  lend,  I  would  frankly 
tell  him  the  state  of  the  case.  I  think,  with  that  settled,  a  few 
advertisements  of  "an  excellent  house  in  a  suburb  of  London," 
etc.,  would  bring  a  customer. 

P.S. — Did  I  tell  you  of  Galliffet's  remark  that  he  had  known 
many  intelligent  women  with  small  heads,  but  scarcely  ever 
had  known  a  man  with  a  small  head  to  have  force  of  character  ? 
Also  that  his  dog  was  tres  aristocrat  and  will  not  make 
friends  with  his  valet  de  chambre,  "  qui  est  bien  plus  Elegant 
qui  moi."  Just  like  our  Roger,  who  rushed  to  meet  the 
"  Friendly  Girls,"  thinking  it  was  a  garden  party,  and  when 
he  saw  who  they  were,  bow-wowed  at  them  over  his  shoulder  and 
ran  back  to  us. 

Ranger's  House,  10  p.m.,  3/10/90. 

I  have  just  got  your  first  letter.  I  am  glad  you  liked  the  Lady 
brushes  and  rug.  If  allowed,  you  would  never  have  anything  ^^iseiey* 
nice  for  yourself.  Our  poultry  excursion  was  very  interesting. 
I  believe  one  might  Uke  "  Wyandots,"  "  Landshaws,"  and 
"  Rosecombed  Orpingtons  "  as  much  as  Grohiers  and  Pade- 
loups  !  We  saw  a  thousand  cocks  and  hens,  ducks,  pigeons, 
etc.  The  man  who  took  us  round  explained  everything,  feed- 
ing, management,  etc.,  so  it  was  really  a  good  lesson.  The 
drive  there,  beyond  St.  Mary's  Cray,  is  really  charming.  We 
are  in  hopes  Cork  will  take  our  peacocks  and  give  us  fowls  in 
exchange. 

My  dear  middle-aged  friend  went  with  me  round  the  shops 
yesterday  to  see  the  fashions — she  trjdng  on  all  the  youngest 
things !  Dress  is  quite  as  interesting  to  her  now  as  it  was 
twenty  years  ago.  She  is  jealous,  I  can  see,  of  Frances'  youth 
and  disUkes  going  about  with  her.  How  sad  I  She  is  happier 
19 


290  THE  LETTERS  OF 

with  a  poor  old  humble-bee  like  me,  who  has  thrown  up  the 
sponge  and  doesn't  try  to  rival  her  waist. 

To-day  we  went  to  the  Military  Exhibition,  and  took  Mrs. 
Lang  with  us.  It  was  the  "  Officers'  Competition  '*  day,  and 
very  badly  they  competed.  Barrington  was  entered  for  every- 
thing and  very  grandly  dressed,  but  he  did  not  do  much !  I  am 
delighted  you  had  such  a  reception.  I  long  to  hear  further 
particulars  of  everything.  I  have  been  out  at  a  quarter  to 
seven  each  morning  and  am  shrinking  visibly. 


Ranger's  House,  6/10/90. 
Lady  I  must  tell  you  of  our  Kempe  expedition  yesterday.     It  was 

Woiseiey.  thoroughly  enjoyable.  We  got  to  Hayward's  Heath  at  1.25. 
Mr.  K.i  met  us  there  himself,  with  his  waggonette,  pair,  coach- 
man and  footman,  very  well  turned  out  for  an  "  artistic  "  man. 
His  house  is  in  the  village,  a  little  back  from  the  road,  date  1583, 
and  close  to  it  an  old  half -timber  cottage  which  he  bought  also. 
The  exterior  of  both  very  picturesque.  The  garden  is  at  the 
back  and  stretches  away  into  the  country,  no  houses  to  be  seen. 
His  garden  is  formal,  and  his  yew  hedges  planted  only  fourteen 
years  ago  are  magnificent.  His  receipt  is  "  feed  them."  The 
inside  of  his  house  is  ravishing.  Partly  old,  partly  added  to,  but 
you  could  not  tell  the  new  from  the  old.  His  rooms  are,  as 
Bodley  said,  a  *'  series  of  pictures. "  All  oak  panelled,  oak  floors ; 
such  Eastern  rugs  !  Lovely  little  recessed  windows  partly  of 
stained  glass  ;  he  is  a  stained  glass  maker,  and  his  glass  quite 
the  best  I  have  ever  seen — every  detail  thought  out,  and  yet  it  is 
not  affected  or  manieri.  He  took  us  all  over  the  house,  bed- 
rooms and  all.  I  should  like  you  to  see  it.  Except  the  "  great 
parlour,"  his  rooms  are  all  small.  His  dining-room  small,  long 
and  narrow.  The  table  very  narrow ;  we  all  sat  at  one  side  and 
the  servant  handed  things  across  the  table.  It  was  not  in  the 
middle  but  along  the  side  of  the  room.  Very  quaint  with  its 
embroidered  tablecloth.  I  felt  I  ought  to  have  been  an  early 
Italian  lady  sitting  at  it.  He  is  building  a  new  wing,  and  asked 
me  to  lay  the  first  corner-stone.  I  said  Frances  would.  We 
had  such  a  pretty  little  simple  ceremony,  all  standing  round  the 
foundations  in  the  garden — all  being  only  we  and  three-and- 

1  Charles  Earner  Kempe  (i  837-1910),  famous  for  his  stained-glass 
windows. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  291 

twenty  workmen.  We  stood  on  lovely  Indian  rugs,  the  workmen 
bare-headed.  Frances  smoothed  the  mortar  and  tapped  the 
stone,  and  said  Floreat  Domus,  putting  a  newcoin  under  the  stone. 
Mr.  Kempe  made  a  little  speech  explaining  Floreat  Domus,  and 
saying  that,  begun  by  good  workmen,  it  must  flourish.  Then  we 
all  sang  "  God  save  the  Queen."  Then  we  drank  a  loving-cup, 
and  the  workmen  after  us.  It  was  a  nice  brown  crockery  three- 
handled  tankard  and  replenished  from  an  old  copper  "  black 
Jack  "  shaped  jug,  with  a  bunch  of  borage  in  it.  (I  am  sure  he 
knew  the  blue  of  the  borage  would  look  well  in  the  copper.) 
Then  the  workmen  gave  three  cheers  for  me,  F.,  and  Mr.  K.,  and 
it  was  over.  I  very  nearly  asked  them  to  give  a  cheer  for  "  Lord 
Wolseley,"  but  was  shy.  It  was  quite  a  pretty  little  ceremony, 
with  a  nice  spirit  about  it  of  good- will  between  us  all. 


Ranger's  House,  9/10/90. 

Taylor  makes  out  our  house  move  is  a  big  job  ;  your  books  Lady 
alone  would  fill  thirteen  cases.  Oh,  what  a  plague  it  is  to  move,  ^oke/^y. 
and  then  move  back  again,  spending  our  poor  money !  I  find 
so  little  to  write  about  in  our  very  quiet  life  here — ^unless  I  gave 
you  every  pro  and  con  of  our  little  gardening  and  other  arrange- 
ments, or  told  you  that  yesterday  we  went  to  town  to  get  new 
stays  !  The  charming  A.D.C.  elect  is  to  come  to-morrow,  and 
miladi  is  coming  also  for  a  little  visit.  I  believe,  as  he  comes 
from  Aldershot,  she  has  planned  to  journey  with  him.  The 
poor  young  man  will  be  bewildered  between  his  two  Generals* 
wives,  past  and  present.  I  am  out  at  twenty  minutes  to  seven 
still  every  morning  and  am  growing  quite  slight  ! 

The  A.D.C.  on  your  Staff  I  propose  to  attach  myself  to  is 
little  Childers.  I  write  him  terrible  dispatches,  and  he  answers 
very  nicely  and  even  says  "  he  is  glad  to  learn  so  much."  We 
have  our  heads  together  into  the  pantry  sink,  and  we  light  the 
kitchen  fire  to  see  if  the  water  heats  quickly — all  by  letter,  of 
course.  It  will  be  a  great  gain  to  you  that  I  should  have  some 
one  to  loose  off  my  domestic  energy  on. 

Miss  Moore  had  such  a  success  at  Balmoral.  She  sang 
twelve  songs  to  the  Queen  in  the  afternoon.  The  Queen  asked 
for  an  Irish  song.  "  The  Wearin'  o'  the  Green  "  was  the  only 
one  Miss  M.  knew,  so  she  sang  that.  The  Queen  said  it  was 
"  so  sad  and  mistaken."    I  do  think  that  such  a  delightful  little    • 


292  THE  LETTERS  OF 

phrase,  it  r6sum^s  the  Royal  limitations  so  accurately.  What 
they  don't  agree  with  must  be  mistaken.  Why  did  you  let 
Dillon  and  O'Brien  get  off  ?  What  were  your  troops  thinking  of 
not  to  catch  hold  of  them  at  some  port  ? 


Ranger's  House,  Friday. 

Lady  I  was  just  knocked  out  of  time  at  the ,  and  desperately 

Woiseley.  gjg^^j  ^^  g^^  home  yesterday.     It  was  a  deadly  country  house 

party    despite    a    pleasant    Colonel and    the    extremely 

vivacious  Lady .     She  discoursed  or  rather  gabbled  about 

everything.      The were    unusually    civil  !      N.B. — ^They 

go  to  Ireland  every  year.     The  poor  dowdy are  really 

kind,  nice  people.  He  gave  me  los.  6d.,  the  other  people 
ignored  my  little  charity.  I  am  keeping  a  strict  account  of 
all  donors.  The  youth  is  a  very  civil  young  cub.  He  looks 
more  like  twenty  than  twenty-five.  He  hates  society,  never 
goes  into  it,  can  talk  of  nothing  but  hunting,  and  haltingly 

at  that.     Miss did  all  the  work  in  talking  to  him,  and 

very  valiantly  I  will  say.  Whether  she  made  any  impres- 
sion it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  guess.  The  house  was  filthy 
and  stuffy  !  and  the  food  execrable.  My  breakfast  in  the 
morning  was  a  battle.  No  salt,  no  knife,  no  napkin,  and  such 
tea,  poisonous  tannin,  standing  for  hours  I  should  think. 
Mitchell  had  to  grope  for  my  shoes  herself  in  the  boot -hole,  as 
no  one  would  bring  them  up.  Of  course  the  carriage  was  late  to 
take  us  to  the  train,  and  we  all  had  to  go  in  the  shooters'  brake. 
What  fearful  things  shooters  do  go  out  in,  to  be  sure  !  Just 
two  knife-boards  balanced  on  the  wheels.  My  mattress  was 
composed  of  lumps  with  a  central  peak,  and  I  spent  all  night 
trying  not  to  roll  out.     I  should  think  it  has  not  been  carded 

since was  born  !     I  am  glad  to  think  the  17th  will  see  you 

here.  Must  you  bring  Raynor  here  ?  I  quite  dread  his  seeing 
this  piggery — I  assure  you  the  male  slavey  is  worse  and  worse 
every  day ;  the  plate  simply  filthy,  yet  he  covers  himself  with 
rouge  in  cleaning  it,  and  looks  as  if  he  had  killed  a  sheep. 

P.S. — I  am  much  interested  in  Parnell  and  read  every  word 
about  it  in  the  St.  James's  Gazette.  I  read  the  paper  right 
through  at  night  with  my  toes  on  the  fender,  because  not  seeing  a 
man  in  the  evening  I  felt  the  world  might  come  to  an  end  and  I 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  293 

not  know  it.  I  think  Parnell  is  rather  ill-treated  by  all  the  torrent 
of  ridicule  on  his  "  tom-cat  "  adventures.  Just  as  if  many  of 
the  men  who  jeer  at  him  would  not  have  done  the  same  !  More 
party  venom  than  morahty  in  it  !  By  the  bye,  you  always 
call  those  good  people  you  have  been  with  "  Carysbrooke,"  and 
their  name  is  *'  Carysfort."  I  hope  you  did  not  do  it  to  their 
faces  ! 

Ranger's  House,  Greenwich  Park,  S.E. 

15/1/91- 

Here  we  are  de  retour  from  Horsley.     A  capital  ball !    Our     Lady 
drive  to  it  was  most  dangerous,  owing  to  the  slippery  roads —      °  ^  ^^ 
ice  the  whole  way,  and  the  men  quite  expected  to  have  to  drag 

the  carriage.     I  must  tell  you  of  Lord as  a  specimen  young 

man  fin  de  siicle.  He  took  me  in  to  supper.  Asked  me  what  I 
would  drink.  I  said  champagne — as  I  saw  it  there.  He  poured 
me  out  a  glass  and  said,  "  I  wish  you  would  tell  me  if  it  is 
good,**  meaning  before  he  drank  any.  I  said,  "  You  seem  not 
to  have  forgotten  your  Latin,  Fiai  experimentum,  etc." 

I  met  Cyril  Flower  ^  in  town  full  of  gush  about  Gladstone's 
splendid  strategy  in  outmanoeuvring  Parnell ;  but  that  remains 
to  be  proved,  and  I  can't  see  either  side  has  much  to  be 
proud  of. 

Ranger's  House, 
31/1/91- 

Here  we  are  back  from  our  wedding.  The  kind  "  Ladies  "  Lady 
let  us  dress  there,  and  lent  us  their  carriage.  The  church  was  ^o^^^^y- 
very  crowded ;  some  were  very  dowdy.  The  bride  looked 
extremely  well  and  more  self-possessed  than  most  people  are 
at  any  time,  let  alone  at  their  wedding.  The  bridesmaids'  hats 
were  ugly,  but  their  brooches  pretty.  A  monogram  in  Guards* 
colours,  and  tiny  coronet  in  tiny  pearls  and  microscopic 
diamonds.  Lady  Stewart's  house  is  charming  as  to  shape  and 
the  colouring  nice,  not  too  glaring  for  Bodley.  The  brilliant 
red  paper  of  drawing-room  good  for  a  dark  widow  with  two 
dark  daughters. 

The  two  chief  actors  2  were  like  a  happy  boy  and  girl — as 

*  Afterwards  Lord  Battersea. 
2  Lord  and  Lady  Lanesborough. 


294  THE  LETTERS  OF 

they  are — ^very  jolly  and  in  the  highest  spirits  and  quite  natural, 
at  least  if  it  is  natural  not  to  have  any  special  feeling. 

I  have  written  for  Taine  and  Mrs.  Osborne,  and  will  send 
them  on  if  I  get  them.  I  am  reading  Fanny  Kemble's  Further 
Records,  written  at  sixty-eight,  and  very  rubbishy  it  is.  Apropos 
of  your  going  to  Cyprus  she  says  :  "  I  hope  Sir  Garnet  will 
black  his  face  to  be  in  character.  Is  he  married,  and  is  his 
wife's  name  anything  like  Desdemona  ?  "  All  of  which  is  very 
forced  and  not  very  funny. 


Ranger's  House,  1/3/91. 

Lady  Last  night  I  dined  with  the  Knutsfords  ^  to  meet  Princess 

Woiseieyt  Louise,^  who  had  a  gumboil  and  did  not  come.  The  party  was 
Lord  Lome,  Duke  of  Abercom,^  the  Chamberlains,  the  dear 
Stephens,  the  Knutsford  daughter  with  her  Smith  husband, 
the  redoubtable  Ashmead  Bartlett,  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes  (the 
Uon  of  the  moment).  I  sat  between  Bartlett  and  Knutsford. 
He  is  a  Uttle  too  Ministerial,  always  **  in  attendance  on  the 
Queen  "  somewhere.  I  thought  Bartlett  was  going  to  confide 
in  me  about  some  private  troubles,  for  he  said,  **  I  have  been 
through  some  most  painful  scenes  this  week,"  but  it  was  only 
a  friend  who  died  of  the  fog.  Alfred  Austin  *  is  to  have  his  play 
acted  at  the  St.  James's  Theatre  one  night  in  June  by  Ellen  Terry, 
etc.  After  this  one  night,  if  it  succeeds,  it  will  be  produced 
by  the  ordinary  St.  James's  Company,  which  includes  Marion 

Terry.    He  is  very  excited  about  it.     Old was  by  Alfred's 

machination  with  Lord  Salisbury  ("I  said  to  Sahsbury  you  must 
do  it  ")  lately  made  a  Baronet. 

P.S. — There  is  merely  a  mention  (no  description)  of  Marl- 
bro's  funeral  in  Mrs.  Osborne  and  one  mention  of  the  Duchess 

of  M .     I  will  copy  it  out,  but  don't  think  you  will  care  for 

it.    She  was  Admiral  Byng's  sister,  and  her  letters  interceding 
for  his  life  are  interesting.     Also  a  letter  from   the   Due  de 

1  Henry  Holland,    first  Viscount  Knutsford,   Secretary  of  State  for 
Colon!  s,  1887-92. 

2  Princess  Louise,  Marchioness  of  Lome,  fourth  daughter  of  Queen 
Victoria. 

'  Second  Duke. 

■*  Alfred  Austin,  a  leading  journalist ;  Poet  Laureate,  1896. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  295 

Richelieu  to   Voltaire  saying  how  brave  Byng  was  and  how 
unjust  his  trial. 

Ranger's  House,  6/3/91. 

This  morning  at  3.30  we  got  back  here  from  our  three  days'  Lady 
"  London  season."  We  dined  on  Tuesday  at  the  Blumenthals' ;  ^^i'^^^- 
Lord  Brownlow  and  de  Staal,  my  neighbour,  was  very  dry 
and  amusing.  Superlatively  good  music.  On  Wednesday,  after 
dinner,  we  went  to  see  Ivanhoe.  It  is  a  good  spectacle,  but  the 
music  says  nothing  to  one.  Sullivan,  who  can  write  catching 
tunes,  is  foohsh  to  attempt  what  he  can't  manage — a  serious 
opera.  He  had  better  leave  that  to  Wagner.  As  Mr.  Goschen 
says,  "  It  left  me  cold."  There  are  one  or  two  good  innova- 
tions. No  curtain  between  the  scene-shif tings.  The  house  gets 
dark  for  a  second,  and  when  the  light  returns  the  scene  is 
altered.  Yesterday  evening  we  went  first  to  a  "  Cinderella  " 
dance  at  the  Aberdeens'.  Then  Mrs.  Marshall  Roberts'  ball  at 
Spencer  House.  Miss  Comwallis  West  ^  was  there.  She  is  very 
tall  and  very  fair,  had  a  very  pretty  profile,  but  flushes  when 
she  gets  hot.     Being  hot  is  only  becoming  to  some  girls. 

Belgrave  Mansions,  27/4/91. 
I  was  much  interested  in  the  Emperor's  telegram.     It  had      Lady 
a  warUke  tail,  I  thought.  WoiseUy, 

B.  Mansions,  Grosvenor  Gardens, 
6/5/91- 
We  are  at  the  ^nd  of  a  very  hard  week  !     I  could  not  go      Lady 
on  at  this  pace  long,  but  there  have  been  so  few  balls  till  now  ^^^^^^* 
that  I  could  not  bear  to  say  I  was  tired  and  not  take  F.,  but 
five  nights  running  is  tiring.     On  Thursday,  Frances  went  to  the 

opera  with  Alice  Northcote.     I  dined  with  Lady  ,  who 

has  two  pretty  daughters,  and  had  collected  two  eldest  sons 

for  them.    I  went  in  to  dinner  with  Lord .    He  is  an  athlete 

with  a  very  expansive  shirt  front.  He  told  me  he  had  a  "  gun 
head,"  a  phrase  which  conveyed  nothing  to  me.  (I  heard  him 
also  let  it  off  on  Lady  Dufferin,  and  was  comforted  to  find  she 
didn't  know  what  it  meant  !)  So  he  had  to  explain  he  had 
been  pigeon-shooting  all  day.  I  longed  to  ask  how  the  pigeons* 
^  Afterwards  Princess  Henry  of  Pless. 


296  THE  LETTERS  OF 

heads  felt  !  The  other  guests  were  Lord  and  Lady  Churchill, 
Sir  R.  and  Lady  Abercromby,  Mrs.  Charles  Eliot,  Sir  C.  Eraser, 
Lady  Dufferin — ^whom  I  like — and  her  girl,  and  some  more 
young  men.  Then  F.  and  I  went  to  a  ball  in  Hill  Street, 
which  we  thoroughly  enjoyed,  and  only  got  home  at  4  a.m. — 
extraordinarily  late  for  a  London  ball. 

Last  night  we  dined  with  the  Reays  to  meet  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Connaught.  We  had  the  Montroses,  Leconfields, 
Lady  Galloway,  Balfours  of  Burleigh,  Sir  Mackenzie  Wallace, 
young  Edward  Stanley  (the  Preston  eldest  son)  and  his  wife, 
Alcester,  Lord  Houghton,  and  George  Curzon.  I  had  Lord 
Houghton.  Mr.  Curzon  took  in  Frances.  I  wished  it  had  been 
reversed,  as  I  would  better  have  appreciated  the  political  talk. 
Oh  !  Mrs.  Elliot  Yorke  was  there  and  very  nice.  Forgive  all 
this  frivolity  !  We  lead  a  dreadful  life,  turning  night  into 
day,  but  yesterday,  as  a  variation,  we  tried  the  driving  capacities 
of  three  second  coachmen,  one  after  the  other,  andthe  jumping- 
up-and-down  powers  of  three  little  grooms. 


B.  Mansions,  12/5 /91. 

Lady  I  have  only  rubbish  to  fill  my  sheets  to  you,  but  as  it  is  our 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^  y^^  ^^  accept  it.  Frances  has  been  to  tea  with  Kathleen 
Cuffe,  and  there  met  LiUas  Borthwick ;  they  had  a  "  rare 
gossip."  We  went  to  see  Gounod's  Romeo  and  Juliet,  with 
Miss  Fames  as  Juliet,  the  girl  to  whom  Julian  Storey  is 
engaged.  She  is  most  charming  to  hear  and  see.  An  ideal 
Juliet,  and  such  lovely  clothes. 


Belgrave  Mansions,  12/5 /91. 

Lady  Last   night    the   Rothschild   Ball.     It   was   a    drum    with 

Woiseiey.  interludes  of  dancing.  We  went  very  early  to  see  the 
people  arrive.  The  staircase,  diamonds,  and  gowns  were  a 
gorgeous  sight,  but  after  the  arrivals  were  over  it  was  a  little 
tame.  They  only  had  six  dances  in  the  whole  evening,  and 
three  were  quadrilles.  The  heat  was  something  beyond  words. 
There  were  three  young  men  !  and  hundreds  of  bald  heads, 
and  hundreds  of  girls  !  The  Prince  shook  hands  and  the 
Princess  talked  to  me,  and  said  she  had  seen  Frances  and  me 
at  the  opera  on  Saturday.     What  a  memory  / 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  297 

I  am  so  very  tired  of  being  away  from  you.  I  just  long  to 
have  you  with  us  again.  You  can't  wish  it  as  much  as  I  do. 
How  dehghtful  it  will  be  to  be  settled  down  with  our  own 
things,  too,  round  us,  and  a  garden  and  cocks  and  hens. 


B.  Mansions,  4th  June  '91. 

We  got  home  from  our  Queen's  Ball  at  about  two.  It  was  Lady 
just  the  usual  sight,  not  so  full  as  usual,  and  with  the  usual  ^  ^'^^' 
desultory  dancing.  The  diamonds  were  gorgeous,  especially, 
perhaps,  Lady  Londonderry's.  Sir  John  Cowell  put  us  in  a 
little  quiet  corner  close  to  where  the  Royalties  pass  out,  so  we 
got  several  kindly  handshakes.  The  Prince  and  Princess  both 
looked  tired,  I  thought.  To-night  we  go  to  Lady  Chetwode's. 
I  hope  that  will  be  a  good  dancing  ball.  Some  of  these  balls 
are  very  mysterious  ! — perfect  for  house,  supper,  flowers,  and 
scarcely  a  man ! !  Lord  Grey  de  Ruthyn  saw  two  men  he 
knew  sitting  out  at  one  and  said,  *'  What  are  you  two  chaps 
sitting  here  for  ?  "  "  We  are  waiting  for  our  partners  to  come 
and  fetch  us  !  " 


B.  Mansions,  (^th  June. 

I  have  been  reading  a  very  nice  and  very  religious  book  Lady 
the  last  week — old  as  the  hills,  however — Memorials  of  a  Quiet  ^^fo^^y. 
Life.  It  is  by  Aug.  Hare,  and  the  history  of  the  uncle  and 
aunt  who  brought  him  up.  She  was  a  wonderfully  good  woman, 
and  little  Augustus  seems  to  have  been  very  devoted  to  her. 
It  was  rather  too  texty  for  me,  but  the  real  goodness  of  the 
people  is  very  sweet -smelling  and  elevating  after  a  little 
*'  season,"  and  I  have  really  enjoyed  it.  I  shall  make  F.  a 
present  of  a  copy  as  a  nice  book  to  keep. 

I  did  not  care  much  for  the  letter  you  sent  me.  I  don't 
mean  to  hint  it  was  theatrical,  but  it  entirely  missed,  I 
thought,  the  pathos  which  comes  with  real  feeling.  Pray 
do  not  print  a  "  General  order "  when  I  die  (signed) 
*'  WoLSELEY."  In  the  Hare  book  I  tell  you  of,  the  coffins 
were  always  carried  to  the  grave  by  men  in  Sussex  smock- 
frocks —  they  were  Sussex  people  —  an  idea  that  commends 
itself  much  to  one. 


Wolseley. 


298  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Beechwood  Park,i  Dunstable, 

2Hh  June  1891. 

Lady  We  came  here  yesterday.     It  is  a  forty  minutes*  journey 

and  a  forty  minutes'  drive  from  the  station,  the  most  lovely 
drive  possible  through  real  English  country,  woods,  picturesque 
houses,  little  old-fashioned  towns,  etc.  We  have  an  extremely 
pleasant  party  —  not  smart,  not  frumpy,  not  all  old  or  all 
young,  extremely  well  mixed.  Here  it  is  ;  shall  I  dissect  it 
for  you  ? 

Intelligence. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Goschen,  Hamilton  Aide,  Sir 
Edgar  Vincent,  and  I  am  obliged  to  add  myself,  having  no 
claim  to  any  other  category. 

Wit. — Mrs.  Godfrey  Webb,  Lord  Morris,  Beauty  Lady 
Helen  Vincent,  and  pretty  Mrs.  Brooke  (whom  we  met  as  Miss 
Fit zPat rick,  sister  to  Mrs.  Cornwallis  West,  and  who  is  now  a 
widow). 

Girls. — Frances  and  Lady  Sybil  Beauclerk. 

Young  Men. — Lord  Castlerosse,  a  McMahon  (son  of  Sir 
Thomas,  I  think),  Lord  Frederick  Hamilton,  George  Peel. 

I  think  it  very  cleverly  arranged.  The  young  men  would 
find  the  girls  colourless  without  the  two  pretty  married  women 
to  add  brilliancy  to  the  party,  and  I  should  be  furious  if  there 
were  no  young  men. 

I  forgot  a  Mr.  Morton  Frewen  (without  his  wife).  The 
house  is  large,  partly  old,  partly  new.  Mrs.  A.  says  it  was  in 
such  a  state  no  one  would  take  it,  but  she  has  had  carpets 
cleaned  and  dyed,  and  has  twisted  it  about  till  it  is  most  com- 
fortable. The  park  seems  nice  too.  We  are  to  drive  this  after- 
noon, I  believe,  over  to  Ashridge,  about  four  miles.  My  room 
has  a  charming  old  Japanese  paper,  big  bamboos  with  parrots 
and  butterflies  and  humming-birds.  The  Chippendale  glasses 
are  in  silver,  not  gilt  frames,  and  it  looks  very  well  indeed.  Now 
I  must  dress. 

At  the  French  Embassy  on  Thursday  the  Duke  of  Cambridge 
told  me  you  had  never  been  to  see  him.  I  said  you  had  been 
three  times,  and  that  you  were  desolated  at  not  finding  him. 
He  said  I  was  to  tell  you  he  was  very  angry.  I  said  I  could  not 
tell  you  that,  for  it  would  break  your  heart.  He  was  quite 
pleased,  and  said  I  was  to  tell  you  it  would  be  impossible  to 
*  Belonging  to  Sir  Egbert  Sebright,  Bart.,  let  to  Mrs.  Adair. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  299 

send  you  anjrthing  but  a  pleasant  message  through  me.    He  was 
delighted  with  himself,  and  repeated  it  all  to  de  Staal. 


B.  Mansions,  Grosvenor  Gardens, 
30/6/91. 

Our  Adair  visit  continued  and  ended  very  pleasantly.  Lady 
On  Sunday  we  drove  over  to  Ashridge,  4  miles  to  tea,  with  ^^^^^' 
Lord  and  Lady  Brownlow.  They  had  the  Pembrokes, 
Lothians,  etc.,  also  the  Oscar  Wildes  1  It  seems  the 
Brownlows  have  got  a  little  tired — or  she. has — of  a  narrow, 
restricted,  social  circle,  and  fancy  they  would  like  to  know 
more  of  the  artist  world,  actors  and  actresses,  etc.  !  Ashridge 
was  looking  most  beautiful.  I  had  never  seen  it  in  summer. 
It  is  an  ideal  place — not  the  house,  but  the  park,  gardens, 
etc.  Lovely  Lady  Helen  Vincent  had  seemingly  no  desire  to 
commune  with  me.  However,  as  every  one  else  was  very  nice, 
I  did  not  take  that  to  heart  ! 

B.  Mansions,  1/7/91. 

Life  is  hurrying  on  in  a  dreadful  whirl  here  !  Last  night  Lady 
was  rather  an  off  night  (and  to-day  is  a  very  o^day,  for  I  have  ^^^*^* 
had  no  letter  from  you  !).  We  dined  with  the  good  Ladies. 
I  had  Sir  Henry  Thompson,  very  interesting  and  pleasant,  and 
on  the  other  side  Gennadius,  who  is  most  amusing,  I  find,  full 
of  appreciation  of  fun  !  I  will  tell  you  one  interesting  little 
anecdote.  Apropos  of  Westminster  Abbey,  Sir  H.  Thompson 
said  that  Shakespeare  and  Ben  Jonson  attended  Spenser's 
funeral  there,  and  threw  their  pens  into  his  grave.  Gennadius 
said  that  ceremony  was  copied  from  his  countrymen  the  Greeks, 
who  at  the  funeral  of  a  very  great  (literary,  I  suppose)  man, 
threw  their  stylus  into  the  grave.  Also  that  as  Ben  Jonson 
was  a  great  Greek  scholar,  he  must  have  told  Shakespeare  of 
the  custom,  as  Shakespeare  himself  only  read  translations 
(he  might,  however,  have  read  of  it  in  the  translations  !).  Gen- 
nadius was  very  amusing  about  the  fashion  amongst  smart 
women  now  to  be  rude,  and  how  if  a  man  is  civil  they  either 
think  him  quite  second-rate,  or  imagine  he  is  in  love  with  them. 
He  says  he  often  sees  in  their  looks  that  they  think  he  has 
**  des  intentions  "  when  he  only  has  "  des  artentions,*'  and  he 


300  THE  LETTERS  OF 

laughs  to  himself  in  his  chair,  when  he  gets  home,  over  their 
misguided  vanity. 

I  heroically  went  on  to  an  awful  drum.  I  left  Frances 
in  the  carriage  and  stayed  five  minutes.  There  was  a 
troop  of  "  Spanish  troubadours  "  in  costume  (very  fat  legs 
in  white  cotton  stockings),  as  grave  as  judges,  pinching  a  little 
whispered  melody  out  of  their  guitars,  almost  inaudible  amongst 
the  roar  of  voices  rising  louder  and  louder,  and  the  voices  ceasing 
the  moment  the  Spaniards  ceased  their  tune.  It  was  really 
amusing.  Lady  Tryon  and  Colonel  (War  Office)  Eraser  the 
only  people  I  had  ever  seen. 

The  Royal  Hospital,  Dublin, 

Sunday,  7/2/92. 

Lord  I  have  just  received  Frances'  letter  of  yesterday — please 

^^^'  thank  her  for  it.  The  toothpicks  are  just  the  usual  common 
ones  to  be  had  everywhere,  so  hard  and  strong  that  you  might 
as  well  pick  your  teeth  with  the  poker.  Those  I  wanted  were 
just  half  the  size.  But  never  mind,  these  pokers  will  do  for 
the  Hussars  and  Guardsmen  who  dine  here.  Oh,  such  a 
dinner  the  other  night  !  If  officials  would  only  give  one  a 
leg  of  mutton  and  a  rice  pudding  and  a  good  bottle  of 
wine,  how  much  pleasanter  it  would  be  for  us,  cheaper  for  their 
own  pockets,  and  better  for  the  general  health  of  all  parties. 
You  know  how  little  of  a  gourmet  I  am,  but  I  draw  the  line 
at  garbage — ^served  up  by  heated,  hurrying  waiters — under  the 
disguise  of  long  French  names,  taken  haphazard  from  some 
cookery  book. 

Dublin,  /^th  June  1892, 
My  Fifty-ninth  Birthday. 

Our  Silver  Wedding  Day. 

Lord  I  have  just  received  your  nice  fat  letter  of  yesterday.    Thank 

vVoiseiey.  ^^^  ^^  much  for  it,  and  for  all  it  contains.  As  I  have  often 
told  my  brothers  and  sisters,  you  were  evidently  made  for  me, 
for  I  feel  you  are  the  only  woman  who  does  not  bdre  me,  the 
only  woman  I  could  live  with,  in  fact  the  only  woman  who 
interests  me.  You  amuse  me,  and  have  all  the  qualities  for 
good  that  I  have  not  :  wit,  great  descriptive  powers,  and 
great  imagination.     You  know  as  well  as  I  do  how  much  I 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  301 

love  you,  and  if  I  were  only  a  little  easier  as  to  finance,  I  should 
be  as  happy  as  the  day  is  long.  I  feel  that  both  you  and  I 
have  so  much  to  be  grateful  and  thankful  for,  that  we  ought 
more  than  others  to  try  to  please  God  and  show  Him  how  much 
we  value  His  blessings  and  are  sincerely  grateful  for  them. 


9/8/92. 

A  rumour,  brought  from  London  last  night  by  Edward  Lord 
Cecil,  says  Tom  Brassey  is  to  be  Lord-Lieutenant.  I  sincerely  ^^^^^^y- 
hope  it  is  true,  for  though  he  is  not  brilliant,  he  is  sensible, 
and  would  not  embark  upon  measures  that  would  lead  to  revolu- 
tion. His  Excellency  was  at  the  field  day  this  morning,  and 
I  asked  him  to  come  with  me  to  the  Curragh  on  Friday  for 
a  manoeuvre  there,  which  he  is  to  do.  I  have  also  arranged 
to  give  him  a  formal  stately  review  here  next  Saturday.  So 
I  shall  send  him  off  with  all  honours. 


Cadiz,  Monday,  26th  September  1892. 

We  have  had  a  long  and  tiring  day,  and  I  am  glad  to  be  Lord 
alone  in  my  own  cabin.  We  went  ashore  early,  and  left  by  ^^^'^y- 
train  for  Xeres,  where  all  the  sherry  in  the  world  is  made. 
There  we  saw  all  the  process  of  pressing  and  fermenting,  and 
drank  so  many  samples  of  old  wine  that  we  were  soon 
jabbering  all  at  once  and  might  almost  have  been  mistaken  for 
Frenchmen.  We  had  luncheon  with  the  biggest  of  the  wine 
manufacturers,  went  to  see  the  best  church,  and  at  last  got 
away  in  a  jaded  and  somewhat  tooly-looral  condition.  I  was 
tired  talking,  and  still  more  of  listening  to  a  garrulous 
Spanish  Marquis,  who  chattered  and  gesticulated  from  the 
moment  he  joined  us  at  9  a.m.  until  we  said  good-bye  to  him 
at  4  p.m.  As  he  faded  away  in  distance  whilst  we  drove  to  the 
station,  I  could  see  his  arms  waving  as  if  he  were  a  semifore 
(wrongly  spelt),  and  I  could  hear  the  ripple  of  his  garrulity 
long  after  a  building  hid  him  from  us. 

We  start  to-morrow  for  Lisbon,  but  we  are  not  at  all  certain 
the  Portuguese  will  give  us  "  pratique."  I  tried  to  buy  a  piece 
of  old  embroidery  for  you,  but  the  ancient  devil — she-devil — 
who  owned  it  differed  with  me  so  seriously  as  to  its  value  that 
we  could  not  come  to  terms. 


302  THE  LETTERS  OF 


Lisbon,  E.S.  "  Mirror/' 

Thursday,  29/9/92. 

Lord  I  have  just  returned  from  Cintra,  the  summer  resort  of  the 

Woiseiey.  LigbQ^  folk.  The  King  has  a  hideous  modem  castle  in  the  worst 
possible  German  style — perched  on  the  top  of  a  rocky  hill 
quite  a  thousand  feet  above  the  surrounding  country.  It  is 
quite  painful  to  see  the  poor  horses  pulling  at  their  collars  up 
the  steep  gradients  in  which  the  road  has  been  constructed. 
When  you  get  to  the  top,  the  view  is  very  striking.  On  one 
side  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus,  with  its  very  yellow  sandy  beach 
contrasting  with  the  blue  sea,  which  usually  beats  upon  it 
rather  angrily.  Then  turning  round  and  looking  north  over  a 
rolling  plain  studded  with  villages,  you  see  the  high  ground  of 
Torres  Vedras,  upon  which  Wellington  constructed  his  cele- 
brated lines.  Our  minister.  Sir  George  Petre,  met  us  at  the 
railway  station  here  in  Lisbon,  and  went  with  us.  He  is  a 
pleasant  old  man  with  an  unpleasant  stammer.  We  were  then 
in  turn  presented  to  the  King,  whom  I  had  met  in  London  at 
the  Jubilee  in  1887.  He  was  in  uniform,  which  is  unusual  with 
him.  If  you  can  picture- the  Duchess  of  Edinburgh  in  boots 
and  breeches,  you  will  have  a  very  good  notion  of  what  he 
looks  like.  His  face  is  curiously  like  hers,  and  the  accent  with 
which  he  speaks  EngUsh  is  exactly  hers.  He  was  very  gracious  : 
we  did  not  see  the  Queen,  which  I  regret. 

We  went  to  lunch  with  the  Pet  res.  She  is  a  most  affable 
woman,  and  has  evidently  been  good-looking  some  forty  or 
forty-five  years  ago  :  dressed  in  mauve  with  long  golden  fringe 
round  her  waist.  She  was  very  amusing,  and  did  not  mind 
when  Sir  George  caught  her  up,  which  he  did  from  time  to  time. 

The  King  told  me  he  hated  living  in  the  clouds  at  Cintra,  and 
enjoys  the  seaside  where  he  sees  plenty  of  people.  The  Queen 
likes  the  quiet  of  her  castle  on  the  mountain-top,  and  hates  the 
watering-place  where  the  cocottes  of  Portugal  come  to  wash 
themselves  in  the  briny. 

The  Royal  Hospital,  Dublin, 
29/1/93,  Sunday  Morning,  very  early. 

Lord  The  Londonderrys  arrived  yesterday  evening  ;    he  had  to 

^  *^*  dine  out,  but  we  had  really  a  very  pleasant  dinner.    The  Row- 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  303 

leys,  father  and  mother  ;  the  Claude  Guinnesses  and  their 
daughter  ;  Miss  Dowse,  Father  Healy,  Arnold  Forster  (staying 
in  the  house),  and  some  more  whom  I  forget  :  twelve  in  all. 
The  evening  before,  we  were  twelve  men,  including  Judge 
Webb  and  Professor  Tyrrell,  between  whom  raged  the  most 
dehghtful  discussion  as  to  the  authorship  of  Shakespeare's 
plays.  We  had  also  Tisdall,  who  was  quite  eclipsed,  and  who 
was  evidently  most  anxious  to  recite.  There  were  also  Barr 
Campbell  ^  and  his  adjutant,  Helyer  3rd  Hussars,  Coke, 
Childers,  and  Welby.  I  feel  that  all  went  away  thoroughly 
pleased  with  their  entertainment. 

To-day  His  Ex.  comes  to  luncheon  to  meet  Lady  London- 
derry. My  Lord  lunches  out  with  the  Olpherts.  Also  the 
Moncrieffs  and  Judge  Webb.  Arnold  Forster  2  rode  Kathleen 
yesterday  and  the  day  before.  She  went  very  well,  but  he  is 
so  delicate  that  he  could  not  stay  out  beyond  an  hour,  and 
did  not  Uke  going  fast.  I  have  mounted  Spencer  for  the  last 
week  on  Brown  Bess,  who  is  now  quite  well.  She  makes  a 
noise,  however,  and  if  I  can  sell  her  to  some  infantry  major 
or  colonel  who  is  a  bad  horseman,  and  wants  a  really  steady 
charger,  I  shall  do  so.  The  dogs  are  quite  well.  Roger  never 
comes  near  me  ;  Coffee  condescends  to  sleep  in  my  room,  but 
it  is  under  protest. 

You  ask  me  about  those  two  ladies.  Well,  they  appeared 
here,  and  such  figures  of  fun  were  never  seen  outside  the 
booths  of  strolling  players.  The  elder  female's  appearance 
beats  everything  I  have  contemplated  in  woman.  She  has 
now  taken  to  a  light  wig.  Their  ideas  and  habits  are 
barely  human,  and  more  suited  to  the  monkey-house  of  a 
zoological  gardens  than  to  everyday  life.  When  they  appear 
on  "  the  Front  "  at  the  seaside  there  must  be  a  rush  to  gaze 
upon  them.  But  what  can  poor  Joe  do  ?  He  knew  them 
as  a  boy,  when  they  too  were  very  young.  They  are  his  own 
flesh  and  blood,  and  unless  he  poisons  them — for  which  he 
would  be  certainly  hanged — he  cannot  debarrasser  himself  of 
the  relationship.  He  must  wish  they  would  emigrate ; 
perhaps  some  negro  potentate  might  be  glad  to  have  them  as 
white  women  in  his  harem. 

^Colonel  Barrington  Campbell,  afterwards  third  Lord  Blyths- 
wood. 

'^  M.P.,  West  Belfast,  Secretary  of  State  for  War,  1903-6. 


304  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Royal  Hospital  Kilmainham,  Dublin, 
24/5/93- 

Lord  I  am  just  from  the  Queen's  Birthday  parade,  which  went 

oiseiey.  ^^  ^^^^  y^^^  and  there  seemed  to  be  a  great  crowd  of  people. 
I  lunched  at  the  Viceregal  Lodge  after  the  review,  and  there 
met  the  great  Radical,  Mr.  Lucy,i  and  Mr.  Hardy  the  novehst. 
Where  was  it  we  met  him  before  ?  I  expect  them  both  here 
every  minute  to  see  the  Hospital. 

My  dinner  on  Sunday  went  off  very  well,  and  that  at  the 
Guards  yesterday  was  enjoyable.  Sir  John  would  have  sat  there 
all  night  if  I  had  not  torn  him  away  at  last.  He  is  a  dear,  good, 
old  fellow,  but  I  know  exactly  his  limitations  and  I  have 
already  heard  his  views  many  times  upon  all  the  topics  of  the 
day.  Of  all  the  fallacies  in  the  world,  the  greatest  is  the 
saying  that  "  three  is  no  company  "  ;  it  is  just  the  number 
I  like  best,  for  then  I  am  not  called  upon  to  talk  most. 

13/6/93. 
i^ord  Enclosed  note  from  Sir  H.  Ponsonby  is  in  answer  to  my  letter 

Woiseiey.  giving  him  my  views  about  things  here.  In  it  I  intimated 
indirectly  that  I  could  not  stay  here  if  Civil  War  took  place. 
I  am  afraid  the  worry  of  this  Home  Rule  Bill  will  kill  the  Queen. 
If  it  does,  Mr.  Gladstone  will  have  another  and  a  very  great  sin 
to  answer  for.  I  hear  the  excellent  adjutant  ^  of  the  Coldstream 
is  engaged  to  one  of  the  beautiful  Taylor  twins. 

Sunday,  12/8/93. 

Lord  I  have  just  come  back  from  the  Chapel  Royal  in  the  Castle, 

Woiseiey.  ^j^ej-e  I  went  to  the  Rifle  Brigade  military  service  and  to  hear 
Colonel  Lyttelton's  brother  ^ — ^headmaster  of  Haileybury — 
preach.  I  enjoyed  the  sermon  very  much  ;  it  was  sound  stuff, 
such  as  soldiers  can  and  will  take  in — ^no  highfalutin  nonsense 
about  theoretical  doctrine  and  mystic  theology  which  few 
understand  and  which  soldiers  don't  even  try  to. 

I  go  to  lunch  with  the  L5rtteltons  by  and  by,  and  then  back 
here  to  get  through  a  huge  pile  of  private  letters.    How  I  hate 

^  Sir  Henry  Lucy. 

2  Afterwards  Lieut.-General  Sir  Stanley  Maude. 

3  The  Hon.  and  Rev.  E.  Lyttelton,  afterwards  Headmaster  of  Eton. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  305 

the  prospect.  The  letters  I  mean,  not  the  luncheon.  Last 
night  I  dined  with  the  Scots  Guards — a  farewell  dinner.  "  Bar  " 
has  reduced  his  figure  considerably,  and  I  think  he  and  all  his 
of&cers  are  very  sorry  to  leave.  On  Tuesday  next  I  go  to 
Monasteriven  for  a  couple  of  days'  manoeuvres.  Lady  Drogheda, 
who  will  be  away,  has  allowed  me  to  stay  with  my  Staff  at 
Moore  Abbey.  I  am  off  again  on  Saturday,  19th,  to  stay  with 
the  Lord  Chancellor  in  the  West.  There  I  remain  until  28th, 
when  I  must  come  back  to  be  again  sworn  in  as  Lord  Justice. 
That  boy,  Richard,  was  given  a  week's  leave  to  visit  his  friends, 
but  he  has  not  been  heard  of  since.  I  hope  he  has  not  tumbled 
down  a  well.  I  am  much  disturbed  in  my  mind  as  to  whether 
I  should  or  should  not  vote  in  the  Lords  against  old  Gladstone's 
Bill.    What  do  you  think  ? 

You  are  right  about  the  man  of  one  hobby  being  a  bore. 
And  the  hobby  that  is  more  or  less  mechanical,  like  playing  the 
fiddle,  singing,  or  dancing,  or  the  tight  rope,  becomes  automatic- 
ally a  bore.    I  cannot  talk  of  the  advantage  of  B  flat  over  C 

sharp,  nor  do  I  care  two  twopenny  d 's  whether  the  Blondin 

of  the  day  chalks  his  boots  with  French  or  common  chalk,  etc. 
A  real  interest  must  be  an  intellectual  one,  into  which  any  well- 
educated  man  or  woman  can  enter. 

I  am  so  glad  you  are  enjojdng  yourself,  but  you  always  do 
enjoy  yourself  on  the  Continent.  The  smell  of  a  foreign  drain 
to  you  is  hke  the  bouquet  of  "  Chateau  la  Rose  "  to  a  con- 
noisseur in  wines  :   it  gladdens  your  heart. 

At  Sea,  nearly  off  Portland  Bill, 
Sth  September  1893. 

As  I  write  this,  I  presume  that  Frances  and  you  are  sitting      Lord 
in  the  sunny  gardens  of  Versailles.    I  have  been  driven  below  ^^^^^^V' 
by  a  very  heavy  shower  of  rain.     We  have  a  westerly  wind 
against  us  and  a  heavy  chopping  up-Channel  sea  breaking  over 
our  bows,  which  would  put  you  hors  de  combat  if  you  were  on 
board.    I  think  of  you  every  hour  of  the  day,  and  I  pray  morn- 
ing and  evening  to  God  that  He  may  help  you.     The  older  I 
grow  the  more  I  turn  to  Him  for  help,  and  the  greater  the 
comfort  I  obtain  from  feeUng  that  I  am  in  communion  with 
my  Maker,  and  that  He  cares  for  me.    I  have  just  read  the 
psalms  for  the  day,  and  they  are  deUghtful — please  read  them 
if  you  have  a  Prayer  Book  with  you. 
20 


I 892- I 893 
CHAPTER  XXI 


I  Stratton  Street, 
1st  May  1892. 

Lady  No  letter  from  you  all  yesterday,  and,  of  course,  none  can 

Woiseiey.  ^ome  to-day  ;  very  naughty  of  you  !  We  have  settled  on  the 
Bryanston  Street  house  (21),  and  we  go  into  it  next  Thursday, 
as  they  wanted  that  time  to  get  it  ready.  We  have  given  up 
Paris,  but  to-morrow  we  go  to  Brighton  (King's  Hotel  will 
find  us)  till  Thursday.  We  did  not  like  to  stay  on  here  so  long. 
They  are  most  kind  to  us,  and  leave  us  our  independence. 
Mr.  Burdett-Coutts  took  us  to  a  play  on  Friday,  A  Fool's 
Paradise — a  clever  piece  and  well  acted.  Last  night.  Sir  Henry 
and  Lady  Evelyn  Ewart  dined  here,  and  we  all  went  to  see 
Oscar  Wilde's  piece,  Lady  Windermere's  Fan.  The  dialogue 
is  very  good,  the  plot  not  good,  impossible  and  vulgar, ibut  it  is 
a  better  play  than  the  usual  run. 

We  went  to  the  Academy  View  and  saw  some  nice  pictures, 
and  also  bores  without  end.  Lady  Haliburton  is  most  anxious 
you  should  make  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords,  in  defence 
of  her  Arthur y  who  is  being  much  pecked  at. 


21  Bryanston  Street, 

Saturday y  Sth  May  1892. 

Lady  I  have  just  finished  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward's  new  novel,  David 

Woiseiey.  Qyi^^^^     \  think  it  very  forcible,  and  was  thoroughly  interested 

in  it.     I  must  read  you  the  description  of  a  country  house  in  it, 

quite  me  at  Wilton  ! — and  they  left  by  an  "  early  train."    The 

book  is  a  strange  jumble  of  religious  views,  Voltaire,  Schopen- 

306 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY     307 

hauer,  every  sort  of  "  ism  "  pressed  into  the  service  of  Mrs. 
H.  W.'s  hero.  One  hurries  along,  always  thinking  he  will  settle 
down,  and  he  always  has  a  new  beUef  to  try.  There  is  not 
one  ray  of  humour  in  the  book  ;  perhaps  it  is  the  one  thing 
lacking  in  the  authoress  herself.  I  have  also  had  some  more 
nibbling  at  Gosse.  He  is  a  literary  Dreyfus. ^  He  makes  us 
something  in  a  tasteful  modern  way  out  of  a  few  shreds  of  old 
forgotten  literature,  as  Dreyfus  does  with  a  bit  of  old  brocade 
or  embroidery.     I  am  becoming  quite  a  critic. 


21  Bryanston  Street, 
'^rd  June  1892. 

I  like  your  paper-cutter,  dear  thing,  and  don't  long  for  lady 
the  tiara  !  You  have  given  me  more  than  many  tiaras  in  your  ^oiseUy. 
tenderness  and  forbearance  to  me  in  all  these  twenty-five  years. 
I  wish  I  had  always  been  quite  worthy  of  it.  I  feel  strongly, 
too,  that  another  woman  might  have  been  of  so  much  more 
use  and  help  to  you  ;  but  as  human  life  goes,  I  hope  I  have  suited 
you  better  than  some  may  have  done,  and  that  I  now  at  least 
suit  you  fairly.  We  are  very  happy,  I  think.  I  know  I  am, 
are  you  ?  I  am  always  very  difl&dent  about  having  any  good 
qualities.  Try  to  find  all  you  can  in  me.  You  always  do  try, 
and  never  snub  or  crush  me.  I  am  not  sending  you  any  birthday 
gift,  but  my  loving  thoughts  and  wishes  to  be  with  you. 

Mrs.  Haliburton  Campbell  is  getting  up  the  Fancy  Dress 
Quadrille  for  the  Caledonian  Ball,  and  has  asked  Frances  to 
dance.  Sixteen  girls  and  sixteen  Guardsmen.  The  dress, 
d  vivandi^re.  There  is  to  be  a  practice  at  Chesterfield  House, 
and  Mrs.  Campbell  allots  the  partners  to  each  girl. 

I  wish  we  could  have  been  together  to-morrow.  I  go  to 
a  Coquelin  play  in  the  evening. 

21  Bryanston  Street, 
Saturday,  July  1892. 

My  Dearest, — Yesterday  you  had  only  a  business  scratch,     Lady 
so    to-day    we    must    return    to    social    annals.    On    Thurs-  ^<^'**^* 
day,  Frances  and  I  dined  with  Mrs.  Arthur  Kennard  to  meet 

*  Art  dealer  who  introduced  the  fashion  of  covering  books,  etc.,  with 
old  silk  and  brocade. 


3o8  THE  LETTERS  OF 

the  Tecks ;  but  the  Duke's  sister  died  in  the  morning,  so  they 
could  not  come.  Poor  Mrs.  Kennard  was  very  depressed, 
as  she  had  wreathed  her  house  in  roses.  They  had  a  long 
old  table,  and  round  young  table.  I  had  Thomas  Hardy, 
the  novelist — ^whom   I  liked   very   much.     A.   was  next   the 

much-run-after  Mr.  .     She  gave  us  a  graphic  description. 

She  and  he  were  placed  so  that  they  could  be  seen  through  a 
doorway — door  taken  off  its  hinges — ^by  two  girls  of  the  family 
not  dining,  but  watching  on  the  stairs  how  she  played  her  fish  ! 
This  was  all  planned  out.  They  applauded — silent  clapping — 
when  she  seemed  playing  him  well.  He  goes  in  for  being  rude, 
and,  poor  man,  is  awfully  pursued.  So  A.  went  on  the  indifferent 
tack  at  first,  which  was  the  best,  as  one  can't  give  him  more 
butter  than  he  has  had  already.  He  told  her  she  always  looked 
so  demure  when  she  came  into  a  room  (so  he  has  watched  her 
coming  into  rooms),  and  she  told  him  he  was  always  dreadfully 
self-conscious.  She  was  never  introduced  to  him  before,  but 
he  has  frequently  tried  to  get  a  rise  out  of  her  by  coming  straight 
across  a  room  to  her,  and  then  asking  some  one  near  to  dance. 

After  dinner,  Mrs.  Kennard  had  a  concert,  and  Mr.  sat 

by  A.  the  whole  evening ;  but  that  did  not  take  her  in,  as  that 
is  also  a  dodge  of  his.  He  devotes  himself  to  a  new  friend  the 
whole  evening,  and  next  time  they  meet  never  looks  at  her. 
A.  was  entouree  by  young  men,  and  talked  least  to  the  great 
parti  just  to  be  even  with  him.  It  is  really  an  amusing  game 
when  you  are  young  and  don't  care  and  can  wait. 


Klinger's  Hotel, 
4th  August  1892. 

Lady  My    Dearest, — I    was    out    at    7    to-day   to    have    my 

Woiseieyi  ^^  glass.  I  found  myself  much  too  late.  The  crowd  was 
excessive  I  A  queue  half  down  the  Promenade,  four  deep,  of 
people  waiting  to  fill  their  glasses.  I  gave  mine  to  a  Dienst- 
mann  exactly  like  L.  K.,  and  then  mistook  another  for  him  still 
more  exactly  Uke  L.  K.,  and  got  so  confused  between  the  two 
that  I  finally  got  a  glass  of  cold  instead  of  lukewarm  as  ordered 
by  Ott.  Then  I  walked  to  the  so-called  "  Riviera  "  and  looked 
at  the  distant  pine  woods,  all  the  little  straight  cross  twigs 
looking  exactly  like  a  line  engraving.  As  I  sat  there  GalHffet 
walked  by  with  another  Frenchman :   I  saw  him  instantly,  and 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  309 

have  no  doubt  his  quick  eyes  saw  me,  but  I  looked  another  way, 
for  after  the  "  article  "  episode,  I  don't  propose  to  thrust  my 
acquaintance  on  him  again.  He  is  much  aged  and  quite  infirm, 
and  walks  with  a  wriggle  as  if  the  silver  plate  had  sUpped  out  of 
place. 

I  am  afraid  you  are  not  well  ?  Do  please  answer  this.  It 
would  worry  me  less  if  you  would  tell  me.  I  have  read  Theodoric 
(King  of  the  Ostrogoths) — ^history  not  fiction — ^and  was  much 
interested.  I  have  also  read  Mrs.  H.  Ward's  earlier  book, 
Robert  Elsmere — ^a  very  fine  book.  It  is  all  religion,  streaked 
with  love,  and  /  find  it  as  enthralling  as  any  clever  French  novel, 
which  is  saying  a  good  deal.  She  wisely  refrains  from  any 
effort  to  affect  humour,  so  that  one  a  Httle  forgets  the  loss  of 
it.  The  weather  is  fine  now,  though  it  might  be  a  little  warmer. 
The  pine  woods  smell  so  good.  Tell  F.  I  don't  venture  far 
alone,  but  wait  till  I  find  a  respectable  and  fairly  active-looking 
couple,  and,  pioneered  by  them,  get  some  distance.  To-day  I 
attached  myself  to  a  pair  of  honeymooners,  who  I  am  sure 
wanted  to  kiss  one  another  in  the  woods,  and  were  much  bored 
by  my  elephantine  tread  in  pursuit.  I  generally  have  a  chat 
with  Mrs.  Beerbohm  Tree  ;  such  a  nice  little  woman.  They  are 
to  act  in  Dublin  in  September,  and  I  have  begged  her  to  come  and 
see  us.  I  am  at  C.  B.  Brackenbury's  Frederick  the  Great  and 
like  it  and  try  to  know  what  the  left  wing  of  the  army  is  resting 
on,  but  it  is  rather  a  struggle.  How  curious  that  he  ran  away 
at  his  first  battle — ^at  least,  rode  out  of  the  way  all  night. 

I  shall  be  coming  home  primed  with  strategic  knowledge 
from  this  book  and  shall  examine  you  and  see  if  you  really 
know  anything.  I  have  long  doubted  it  !  Now,  for  instance, 
how  about  having  your  wing  en  potence  ?  Are  you  in 
favour  of  it  ?  /  am  not.  I  will  give  you  two  objections :  one 
that  if  either  wing  moves  forward,  or  wheels  up  ever  so  little,  a 
gap  is  made  in  the  Hne ;  another  that  if  attacked  successfully 
by  the  enemy,  your  potence  tumbles  back  on  your  centre. 
Give  some  other  instances  for  and  against,  and  let  me  see  that 
you  understand  the  question. 

21  Bryanston  Street, 
Sunday. 

.  .  .  Well,  we  went  to  Hypatia.     I  find  a.d.  413  a  little     Lady 
too  far  back  for  my  eighteenth-century  mind,  but  still  it  was  ^°^^^^' 


310  THE  LETTERS  OF 

wonderfully  well  put  on  the  stage,  and  Beerbohm  Tree  very 
good.  Sir  H.  Bulwer  was  very  nice  and  old-fashioned,  and 
deUghtfuUy  fussy.  He  promises  to  come  and  see  us  in  Dublin 
in  the  spring.  The  house  was  full  of  people  we  knew.  Mrs.  C. 
Lawrence,  Henry  James — ^we  go  with  him  to  a  play  on  Thurs- 
day— Lees  Knowles,  who  we  thought  wouldn't  see  us,  Mr. 
Coningsby  DisraeH,  Mr.  Farquhar,  the  actor,  Mrs.  Fort  that 
was ;  General  and  Miss  Thesiger,  and  the  Bouveries.  There  were 
numberless  Jews  in  the  audience,  as  the  piece  is  full  of  Jewish 
ascendancy,  and  an  old  Jew  the  principal  character.  I  enclose 
a  few  more  cuttings.  It  is  amusing  they  should  pitch  into  us 
for  rivalling  their  Lord-Lieutenant,  for  since  he  came  we  have 
entertained  less  than  before. 

Yesterday  we  called  on  old  Madame  Pyronnet  who  spoke 
of  people  wearing  "  emetic  green.*'  She  said,  "  I  call  it  that 
because  it  makes  me  sick  to  look  at  it."  And  she  quoted  a 
Frenchman  who  broke  off  his  engagement  to  a  girl,  and  the  only 
reason  he  could  be  induced  to  give,  was  "  ma  chair  se  r^volte." 
Then  we  went  on  to  see  poor  Emily ;  I  am  afraid  her  mis- 
fortunes will  never  come  right.  He  suffers,  it  seems,  from  insane 
jealousy,  and  fancied  if  she  spoke  even  to  a  waiter  that  she  was 
carrying  on  with  him.  She  told  me  that  the  doctor  she  consulted 
said  it  was  not  at  all  an  unusual  case,  and  that  there  was  a 
"  prominent  couple  in  London  society  "  exactly  in  her  case. 
In  the  evening  Colonel  C.  told  me — ^without  my  mentioning 

the  prominent  couple — ^that  Lady had  gone  through  these 

trials  (I  knew  Lord was  ordinarily  jealous,  but  I  did  not 

know  he  was  to  this  extent),  and  that  she  had  said  to  him  at 
dinner  at  her  own  house,  "  Don't  talk  to  me,  or  I  shall  catch 
it  so  terribly  when  you  are  gone."  I  dare  say  they  are  the 
"  prominent  couple." 

21  Bryanston  Street, 

3/6/93. 

Lady  My  Dearest, — ^This  wiU,   I  hope,  reach  you    to-morrow 

Woiseiey.  jjjorning,  your    birthday,  and    bring    you    my    fondest    good 

wishes.     To  me  you  seem  quite  a  young  man,  and  you  cannot 

grow  any  older.     I  don't  know  if  you  got  gouty,  and  blind  and 

deaf,  and  if  I  saw  you  in  a  Bath  chair,  whether  I  should  think 

you  old  !  but  as  it  is,  you  seem  to  me  what  you  were  when  we 

married,  only  much  better  looking.     I  am  quite  sure  that  you 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  311 

have  gained  in  expression,  in  colouring  (from  your  white  hair), 
and  in  delicacy  of  outline  in  your  face.  I  have  been  trying 
to  find  a  little  present  you  would  care  for,  but  I  can  find  nothing. 
If  I  do  see  anything,  I  shall  not  mind  its  being  a  day  or  two  late. 
I  think  you  will  like  my  letter  on  the  right  day,  however. 

Colonel  Grove  ^  was  here  on  Thursday.  He  says,  with 
regard  to  F.M.,  he  thinks  they  intend  not  to  fill  it  up  at  once. 
The  Duke  wants  Prince  E.,  old  Thompson  2  is  all  for  you,  and 
C.-Bannerman  is  open  to  suggestion  from  Thompson — ^which 
Grove  says  old  Stanhope  never  was — so  that  is  in  your  favour. 
He  also  says  that  two  F.M.'s  are  wanting  to  the  full  Establish- 
ment, one  paid  and  one  unpaid,  so  that  you  and  Fuzzleboo^  (?) 
could  both  be  made,  he  the  latter  and  you  the  former.  Wliat 
a  dear  nice  old  man  Colonel  G.  is  !  I  like  him  very  much.  To-day 
we  meet  Castlemaine  in  the  Park  at  10,  by  his  request  !  Then 
there  is  the  meet  of  the  Coaches.  Then  we  go  to  see  Ibsen's 
play.  The  Master  Builder,  at  3.  Gosse  has  both  translated 
the  play  and  sent  me  a  box.  In  the  evening  we  go  to  Foreign 
Office.     Are  we  not  busy  ! 

12/6/93. 

On  Saturday  we  had  luncheon  with  the  Beers  (does  he  not  Lady 
own  the  Observer  ?) ;  they  five  in  an  Italian-Moorish-Chinese  ^^^^^^^y- 
horror  of  a  house  in  Chesterfield  Gardens.  The  dining-room  in 
the  centre  of  the  house,  no  air  or  light,  and  we  ascended  end- 
less floors  in  a  lift  to  a  Moorish  palace  above.  What  a  strange 
way  to  spend  money !  Yesterday  to  the  Gerald  Ponsonbys — 
so  different  and  so  pleasant,  their  charming,  well-proportioned, 
panelled,  moulded  house  which,  alas  !  is  to  come  down  '*  to 
improve  the  Duke's  property." 

21  Bryanston  Street, 
12/7/93. 
I  have  written  to  Truman,  using  the  words  you  advised.      Lady 
What  a  sad  ending  for  two  good  and  clever  servants.     To-  ^o/s^/<fy. 
morrow  I  have  a  tryst  with  Mr.  Leveson-Gower  in  the  Row. 
I  trust  the  weather  will  permit.     I  shall  pour  India  into  his 

^  Afterwards  Sir  G3leridge  Grove,  Lord  Wolseley's  military  secretary, 
I 895-1 900. 

*  Sir  Ralph  Thompson,  Under-Secretary  of  State. 
'  Nickname  for  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe-Weimar. 


312  THE  LETTERS  OF 

(deaf)  ears.     I  am  assured  that  Herschell  is  not  to  go.     That 

it  would  not  be  as  good  as  his  Lord  Ch ^ship.     I  can  bring  it 

on  the  tapis  by  asking  Mr.  Leveson-Gower  if  H.  is  going.  On 
Saturday,  you  see,  I  walk  with  Mr.  Morley,  and  I  shall  do  the 
same  to  him.  It  has  just  occurred  to  me,  I  have  never  left  a 
card  on  the  Gladstones  this  year.  I  did  not  know  if  you  would 
like  it.  Should  I  do  it  still  ?  Last  night  we  went  to  **  Music  " 
at  Lady  Lovelace's.  The  Tecks  there,  the  Duchess  most 
gracious,  thanked  for  F.'s  hard  work  for  the  **  Girls'  Present." 
She  said  the  young  couple  are  so  happy,  "  George  "  reading 
aloud  to  May,  who  has  sent  for  more  wool  for  her  knitting,  and 
"  George  "  had  written  the  Duchess  such  a  delightful  letter  that 
day. 

I  hear  Lady 's  daughter  had  a  proposal  the  other  night,  a 

very  ineligible  one,  and  the  young  man  came  to  see  Lady 

next  day.  She  was  furious  when  she  heard  of  it,  and  lashed 
herself  into  a  frenzy  before  he  arrived.  When  he  was  shown 
in,  and  had  made  his  declaration,  she  said  to  him  :  "  I  want  to 
ask  you  one  question.  Do  you  suppose  that  I  sit  on  a  very 
narrow,  hard,  ballroom  bench  till  2  a.m.  to  reap  you  !  "  The 
poor  young  man  turned  and  fled  ! 


21  Bryanston  Street, 
Sunday,  16th  July  1893. 

Lady  Yesterday  I  took  my  Rotten  Row  walk  with  Mr.  Morley  and 

oiseiey.  ^i^naged  most  innocently  to  get  India  into  his  ear.  He  remem- 
bered— ^what  I  had  forgotten — ^that  I  had  mentioned  it  to  him 
before  !  so  it  is  well  in  his  head.  I  am  sure  he  did  not  think 
that  one  sentence  was  the  reason  for  the  walk.  It  was  most 
amusing  to  see  how  our  being  together  was  noticed  by  riders 
and  walkers.  His  being  there  at  all  was,  I  am  sure,  considered 
a  marvel,  and  he  said  he  had  not  been  there  for  twenty  years  ! 
He  was  very  delightful.  He  seemed  in  good  political  spirits 
(you  will  be  sorry  to  hear),  and  talked  with  more  confidence 
of  continuing  to  be  Chief  Secretary  for  another  six  months  !  ! 
Frances  enjoyed  the  Wimborne   Ball  on  Friday.     We  went 

the  other  day  to  see  the s.     When  I  arrived.  Lady was 

sitting  talking  to  several  men.  She  apologised  for  not  getting 
up,  saying  a  wasp  had  stung  her  leg.  I  strolled  round  the 
garden  with  my  dear  Colonel.     In  a  few  minutes  the  Duchess 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


313 


arrived,  upon  which  Lady 


jumped  up  and  ran 


of  - 

all  across  the  lawn  to  meet  her  !  My  companion  saw  it  at 
once  and  told  me.  He  had  been  prescribing  an  onion  for 
his  hostess'  leg,  but  he  thought  a  Duchess  was  a  far  better 
remedy.  I  will  take  the  book  to  Mr.  Lang  next  week.  There  is 
a  story  that  some  one  told  Madame  Melba — the  great  singer — 
that  Lord  Wolseley  had  said,  "  Who  is  Madame  Melba  and 
what  does  she  do  ?  "  To  which  Melba  repUed,  **  And  who  is 
Lord  Wolseley  and  what  does  he  do  ?  ** 


HOTEL  DU  Lion  d'or,  Rheims, 
27/7/93-    6  p.m. 

Our  travelling  companions  are  very  cheerful,  but  not  in 
the  least  interested  in  anything  old  or  historical.  It  seems  to 
represent  nothing  to  them,  but  I  hear  that  they  dehght  in 
scenery. 

To-morrow  Frances  and  I  go  by  rail  to  Laon,  a  very  mediceval 
town,  for  the  day.  Our  friends  stay  here,  as  it  is  *'  only  anti- 
quity." We  saw  the  tresor  in  the  Cathedral  to-day.  One 
cup  of  the  twelfth  century  was  very  like  the  details  of  the 
Ardagh.  We  also  saw  a  little  casket  reliquary  given  to  the 
Cathedral  by  Henry  11.  with  Diane  de  Poitiers'  monogram  on  it. 
How  strangely  he  mixed  up  his  religion  and  his  mistress.  Fancy 
if  this  happened  nowadays ! 


Lady 
Wolseley* 


Hotel  Schweizerhof,  Neuhaus,  Schaffhausen, 
Wednesday,  2/8/93. 

I  am  much  enjoying  myself,  but  with  many  thoughts  of 
you.  I  should  so  like  you  to  be  here,  if  you  liked  it  yourself, 
and  you  would  Uke  the  scenery  and  the  towns,  I  know,  but  I 
am  afraid  you  would  feel  it  your  duty  as  a  Briton  to  hate  the 
foreigners.  They  light  up  the  Falls  every  night  with  different 
coloured  limelights,  and  manage  to  make  the  Castle  look  as  if  it 
were  on  fire — ^a  red,  glowing  ruin.  It  is  feerique  and  not  trashy 
or  theatrical,  though  the  idea  would  be  worth  much  to  Augustus 
Druriolanus.  Why  does  he  not  have  a  cotton-wool  Schaffhausen 
in  his  next  pantomime  ?  You  recollect  I  always  said  it  was 
ridiculous  that  every  family  in  London  should  have  a  cook  and 
kitchenjfire  of  their  own.     I  see  now  a  monster  Kitchen  Co. 


Lady 
Wolseley. 


314    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

is  being  proposed.  I  think  it  a  most  interesting  and  practical 
scheme.  All  servants  should  be  engaged  and  managed  by 
companies,  whose  business  it  would  be  to  engage  them,  keep 
them  in  order,  and  dismiss  them  when  unsuitable ;  otherwise 
life  is  a  burden  to  those  who  cannot  afford  an  agent,  and  unless 
that  agent  is  a  gentleman,  it  is  only  adding  one  more  to  the 
insolent  robber  band. 


1 894 


CHAPTER  XXII 

Army  and  Navy  Club,  Pall  Mall,  S.W., 
Wednesday,  2/5/94. 

Yesterday  to  lunch  with  Baker  Russell  at  the  Cavalry  Lord 
Club — ^the  last  fad  of  a  select  band — ^and  worked  on  after-  ^^^^^^v- 
wards  at  our  Board  until  5.30  p.m.  Went  to  see  Lady  D. 
Neville.  She  is  just  the  same,  but  begins  to  stoop.  Maurice 
and  Mr.  Charles  Williams  ^  to  dinner  with  me  at  the  Army  and 
Navy.  I  was  to  give  Maurice  a  bedroom  in  my  lodgings,  but 
when  the  time  came  for  going  there,  about  11.30  p.m.,  he  found 
that  some  one  who  had  also  dressed  at  this  club  had  carried  off 
his  dressing-bag,  containing  also  his  walking  clothes.  I  lent  him 
a  night -shirt.  This  morning  he  came  into  my  room  to  have  a 
talk  at  7  a.m.  Still  no  clothes — ^at  8.30  sent  him  off  here  to 
look  for  them;  we  breakfasted  here  together — he  in  evening 
clothes — ^to  the  astonishment  of  those  who  did  not  know  him, 
to  the  intense  amusement  of  all  who  are  aware  of  his  peculiarities. 
He  is,  as  I  write  this,  wandering  about  the  club  trying  to  run 
in  the  man  who  walked  off  with  his  bag.  The  Duke  of  Con- 
naught  asked  me  to  dine  with  him  and  go  to  the  play  afterwards 
to-night,  but  I  told  him  I  could  not  possibly  get  out  of 
dining  with  the  Clothworkers,  much  as  I  should  like  to  be 
with  him. 

I  hope  to  see  Duke  of  Cambridge  to-day.  Buller  tells  me 
it  is  settled  I  am  to  be  made  a  Field-Marshal  on  the  Queen's 
Birthday;  Donald  Stewart  also,  but  not  Roberts. 

*  Charles  Williams,  journalist,  first  editor  Evening  News. 


3i6  THE  LETTERS  OF 


Armagh,  21/5/94. 
Lord  Will  you  kindly  send  to  London  Library  for  Craik's  Life  of 


Wolseley. 


Dean  Swift  ?  The  author  has  written  to  the  Times  about  my 
book,  and  I  think  wrote  the  article  in  the  Times  on  it. 

Please  keep  the  D.  of  Marlboro's  letter  and  G.  A.  Sala's 
for  me  until  I  return.  I  am  curious  to  know  if  the  Gazette  will 
have  my  name  in  it.  How,  even  in  old  age,  we  cling  on  to 
honours  which  really  mean  nothing  ! 

I  am  writing  over  a  fire,  but  the  windows  shut  so  badly 
that  I  feel  a  cold  draught  on  my  near  side,  whilst  on  the  off- 
side my  liver  is  swelling  like  that  of  a  Strasburg  goose.  I 
paid  a  visit  to  the  new  Primate  and  also  to  the  Roman 
Cardinal  :  both  out.  His  Eminence,  whose  father  drives  a  car, 
is  by  no  means  clever,  but  he  is  a  moderate  man  and  mixes 
less  in  politics  than  most  of  his  cloth  in  Ireland.  I  move 
on  to-morrow  to  Newry,  and  on  Wednesday  inspect  the  15th 
Hussars  at  Dundalk.  Please  tell  Rayner  to  have  my  medals 
cleaned,  and  get  Mitchell  to  sew  them  on  to  my  worst  tunic,  so 
that  they  may  not  shake  about  when  I  am  on  horseback  on  the 
Queen's  Birthday. 


The  Royal  Hospital,  Dublin, 
/^h  June — my  Sixty-first  Birthday. 

Lord  Twenty-seven  years  ago  we  were  married.     What  events  have 

oiseiey.  -j-^j^gj^  place  since  then !  When  too  late,  of  course,  I  see  the 
mistakes  I  have  made,  and  how  I  might  have  won  where  I 
failed.  Now,  although  I  feel  myself  strong  enough  for  any 
campaign,  there  is  a  proper  prejudice  against  old  men  in  command 
of  armies  in  the  field.  You  know  how  fit  I  am,  quite  as  sound  as 
Sir  Charles  Napier  in  1849,  when  he  was  hurried  to  India  at  the 
age  of  sixty-seven,  or  as  Lord  Clyde,  sent  there  when  he  was 
sixty-five.  It  is  a  dangerous  experiment  to  employ  an  old  man 
to  command  in  war,  and  a  sin  to  do  so  with  a  young  one  of 
proved  merit  available,  like  Red  vers  Buller  at  this  moment. 
Of  course,  my  ambition  is  to  have  one  big  command  and  go  out 
in  it.  But  God's  will  be  done ;  I  know  I  say  that  honestly  to 
myself.  ^ 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  317 

Ulster  Club,  Belfast, 
30//t  June  '94. 

I  was  up  at  an  early  hour,  but  there  is  more  activity  here  Lord 
at  dawn  than  at  noon  in  any  other  Irish  city.  At  10  a.m.  I  ^°^*^' 
start  to  go  over  the  great  shipbuilding  yard  here,  where  there 
are  over  seven  thousand  men  at  work.  Then  a  fire  brigade  to 
inspect.  Then  a  public  luncheon  with  the  Lord  Mayor,  and 
a  Boys'  Brigade  to  inspect.  Then  the  Giant's  Causeway.  This 
town  is  so  entirely  different  from  Dublin  that  it  is  difficult  to 
realise  one  is  still  in  Ireland.  Yesterday  a  deputation  of  two 
gentlemen  from  Larne.  I  was  asked  to  see  them  by  Jimmy 
MacCalmont,  M.P.  (Hugh's  younger  brother).  Of  course  they 
wanted  barracks  built  in  their  neighbourhood;  but  one  was 
very  drunk,  and  I  had  some  trouble  to  get  rid  of  him. 

I  hope  the  murder  of  President  Carnot  may  lead  to  some 
stringent  law  about  anarchists.  I  wish  we  could  hang  a  score 
of  them  a  day  "  pour  encourager  les  autres." 

Camp — Kellyville  Park, 
5/8/94. 
I  have  just  come  back  from  Kilmarooney — Heavens,  what  a      Lord 
name !  but  the  place  is  beautiful,  with  some  delightful  things  in  it .   ^^^^^^^y- 
Three  very  lovely  cups  of  Charles  i.'s  time,  given  to  an  ancestor 
by  the  Irish  Pariiament.    An  enamel  of  Queen  EUzabeth — which 
has  been  converted  into  a  very  large  ring  by  my  lady.     It  has 
scratched  on  the  back  the  initials  S.  W.  (Stewart  Weldon).     Then 
there  is  the  priceless  enamelled  little  watch  given  by  Charles  I. 
on  the  scaffold  to  the  Bishop  who  attended  him.     Oh,  such  a 
gem  I  and  most  carefully  preserved — ^without  a  scratch.     Then 
some  of   Napoleon's  plate  taken  by  her  father  at  Waterloo, 
and  a  knife  which  Sir  Anthony's  father  took  from  the  dead 
body  of  Tippoo  Sahib  when  it  lay  in  the  gateway  at  Seringa- 
patam.     Piles  of  most  interesting  letters  from  her  father  from 
the  Peninsula  and   Waterloo,   and    deeds   of    EUzabeth  and 
Charles  i.  epoch. 

The  Grosvenor  Hotel, 
12/8/94. 

Maurice  met  me  at  Euston  Square  and  we  drove  here  to-     Lord 
gether.     I  had  a  tub,  and  we  breakfasted  here.     In  a  quarter  ^°^^^^* 


3i8  THE  LETTERS  OF 

of  an  hour  we  are  off  for  Genoa.  Rayner  sent  me  off  without 
a  tooth-brush,  or  if  he  gave  me  any,  he  has  packed  them  away 
in  one  of  the  big  portmanteaux  where  I  cannot  get  at  them. 
My  sponge-bag  is  so  small  that  all  the  wet  exudes  through  it, 
and  the  result  was  disastrous  to  the  shirt  I  had  hoped  to 
wear  to-morrow.  But  these  are  small  worries.  The  day  is 
fine,  and  the  sun  clear.  I  slept  all  through  the  night  and 
feel  very  fresh  in  body  this  morning. 

Grand  Hotel,  Genoa, 
iSth  August  1894. 

Lord  We  have  just  arrived,  and  found   Sir  J.  Pender  awaiting 

Wolseiey.  j^jg  guests  in  a  very  finely  decorated  drawing-room  :  he  arrived 
here  yesterday  from  Aix,  where  he  had  been  going  through  a 
massage  course,  and  looks  all  the  better  for  it.  The  party  con- 
sists of  Sir  J.  P.,  Sir  John  Mowbray,  M.P.,  Col.  Sir  J.  Ardagh, 
Lord  Portsmouth,  Evelyn  Wood,  Lord  Kelvin  (Sir  W.  E. 
Thomson  that  was),  a  great  electrical  expert  and  of  all  kindred 
sciences  ;  the  American  Ambassador  and  myself.  Evelyn  very 
deaf,  so  that  I  am  already  somewhat  hoarse  from  shouting  at 
him ;  Sir  John  Mowbray — a.  very  old  man  I  like  very  much. 
Mr.  Bayard,  the  American,  is,  on  the  whole,  the  most  interesting 
of  the  party :  he  is  well  read  and  is  full  of  instructive  historical 
allusions  and  of  very  amusing  anecdote.  We  may  touch  at 
Syracuse,  but  mean  to  get  to  the  Crimea  as  quickly  as 
possible. 

Sebastopol,  24/8/94. 

Lord  I  am  enjoying  myself  thoroughly  here.     Yesterday  we  set 

°  ^  y'  out  in  our  steam  launch  and  crossed  the  harbour,  where  four 
carriages,  each  drawn  by  three  horses  abreast,  awaited  to  drive 
us  to  the  Alma,  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles. 

I  rode  all  over  the  Right  attack  trenches  the  evening  we 
arrived  and  saw  the  spot  where  I  went  down  with  two 
others — I  alive,  the  others  dead.  To-day  we  go  to  Inkermann, 
Balaclava,  and  the  Monastery  of  St.  George,  where  I  was  taken 
when  badly  wounded,  and  upon  our  return  we  are  to  call  in  and 
have  tea  with  the  Governor  and  his  family. 

At  Sea,  going  in  to  Odessa,  Sunday,  26th  August  1894. — 
We  left  Sebastopol  yesterday  at  2.30  p.m.     Wood  and  I  rode  all 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  319 

the  morning  round  all  the  familiar  scenes.  I  went  over  the 
ground  where  my  regiment  encamped  ;  over  the  spot  where  my 
tent  was  in  the  winter  of  1854-55 ;  over  the  ground  where  the 
heavy  fighting  took  place  at  Inkermann.  How  it  all  came  up 
before  me  !  the  men  who  were  killed  when  I  was  knocked  down 
and  who  fell  with  me.  I  am  grateful  indeed  to  Pender  for  giving 
me  this  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Crimea  again. 

In  the  Bosphorus,  anchored 

NEAR  ThERAPIA, 

2Sth  August  1894. 

Evelyn  Wood  and  I  start  off  on  horseback  soon  after  Lord 
breakfast  for  a  bay  on  the  Black  Sea  about  one  and  a  half  hour's  ^^^^^y- 
ride  from  this,  where  the  Russians  will  land  when  they  try  to 
take  Constantinople.  Dear  Sir  John  Pender  is,  I  think,  some- 
what put  out  that  the  Sultan  has  not  asked  him  to  dinner. 
Personally,  I  hope  His  Majesty  will  let  us  alone,  but  on  Friday 
we  are  to  see  this  little  cowardly  black  man  ride  about  seventy 
yards  from  his  house  to  a  neighbouring  mosque.  I  should 
much  Hke  to  ask  the  little  "  varmint  '*  why  he  spends  money  in 
the  erection  of  batteries  on  the  Bosphorus  whilst  he  leaves  the 
back  door  wide  open  and  undefended. 

Constantinople,  30/8/94. 

Sir  John  has  decided  to  stay  here  for  the  Sultan's  fete  Lord 
to-morrow,  the  anniversary  of  his  accession.  He  lives  in  terror  ^^^^^^y- 
of  assassination ;  he  is  spoken  of  as  a  wonderful  man.  I 
can  only  think  of  him  as  a  contemptible  fool,  incapable 
of  distinguishing  between  his  real  and  his  false  friends. 
He  is  an  absolute  Sovereign,  ignorant  of  the  first  principles 
of  government,  with  the  most  obedient,  long-suffering  people, 
and  an  army  that,  if  properly  managed,  would  enable  him 
to  laugh  at  Russia  and  all  his  other  enemies.  At  the 
Curries'^  on  Tuesday,  I  sat  next  the  Russian  Ambassador, 
who  used  a  fan  all  through  dinner,  and  on  my  other  side 
was  a  charming  girl,  a  Russian,  the  daughter  of  the  Russian 
Embassy's  dragoman.  She  spoke  English  perfectly  and  was 
quite  amusing.     She  smokes  all  day,  rows  herself  about  in  the 

*  Sir  Philip  (afterwards  first  Baron)  Currie,  Ambassador  to  the  Porte, 
1893-98. 


320  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Bosphorus,  is  twenty-six — she  told  me — and  I  think  is  even  more 
anxious  than  most  women  to  be  married.  But  the  society  here 
is  very  small,  extremely  immoral,  and  most  of  the  diplomats  of 
any  position  have  wives  already.  Lady  Currie  makes  a  good 
but  an  anxious  hostess,  and  I  think  the  damp  heat  ashore 
exhausts  her.  I  am  sure  that,  although  she  enjoys  her  position, 
she  loathes  the  place  and  always  feels  tired. 


Therapia,  31/8/94. 

Lord  I  am  terribly  shocked  to  hear  of  poor  Cowell's  sudden  death. 

Woiseieyr  ^g  j  y^exit  over  our  trenches  before  Sebastopol,  I  thought  of 

him  and  of  my  other  Engineer  friends  there.     Oh  that  I  could 

be    killed   in   action  and  not  drop  off  from  over-ripeness  or 

rottenness ! 

Yesterday  we  steamed  down  the  Bosphorus  and  anchored 
off  the  Golden  Horn.  Currie,  in  his  ambassadorial  yacht, 
called  for  us  and  took  us  to  the  Treasury  in  the  old  SeragUo. 
The  emeralds  and  diamonds  and  pearls  would  place  the  Turkish 
Army  on  a  sound  basis  if  they  were  disposed  of  judiciously. 
Everything  is  very  badly  shown,  but  Currie  is  wrong  to  denounce 
it  as  a  sort  of  Palais  Royal  exhibition.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
historical  interest,  and  one  should  prowl  about  with  one  good 
dragoman  to  interpret  the  Turkish  labels.  There  is  no  cata- 
logue, and  probably  the  custodians  plunder  the  collection  at 
will. 

We  returned  to  Currie 's  yacht  and  an  elaborate  luncheon. 
Then  to  St.  Sophia ;  then  to  the  Hippodrome  to  see  an  Egyptian 
monoHth — I  must  reread  my  Gibbon — ^and  the  twisted  serpents. 
Sir  John  attributes  to  Currie  the  fact  that  the  Sultan  has  taken 
no  notice  whatever  of  him.  But  Currie  tells  me  the  Sultan  is 
furious  at  my  being  on  board,  and  looks  upon  me  as  the  man  who 
is  most  responsible  that  Egypt  is  now  ruled  by  England.  My 
only  concern  is  for  Pender,  who  attaches  great  importance  to 
the  condescension  of  Sovereigns.  It  is  an  innocent  feeling,  and 
dear  Sir  John  is  so  good  to  us  all  that  I  regret  much  that  my 
presence  on  board  should  have  deprived  him  of  this  very  simple 
enjoyment.  It  sounds  hke  being  fond  of  lollipops.  But  let 
the  man  who  likes  lollipops  have  his  fill  of  them. 

We  leave  Constantinople  to-night,  and  expect  to  be  at  Grenoa 
on  the  6th  and  in  London  two  days  later. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  321 

AXHENiEUM,   ()/(^/()^. 

To-day  I  have  spent  entirely  in  this  club,  and  wrote  steadily  Lord 
to  answer  the  piles  of  letters  I  found  awaiting  me  here  from  all  ^^^^^^y- 
sorts  of  people.  I  wrote  to  Mrs.  Copley  to  say  I  could  not  pay 
her  a  visit ;  I  have  no  clothes  with  me  to  go  to  Doncaster  for 
the  races  or  amongst  smart  people.  Besides,  I  shall  now  tackle 
some  heavy  work  here.  I  have  begun  an  article  on  my  visit  to 
the  Crimea,  but  I  shall  postpone  that  until  I  return  to  Ireland, 
and  stick  to  the  Marlborough  work  whilst  in  London.  I  liked 
your  extract  from  Mrs.  Grant's  commonplace  book.  I  cannot 
gush  to  people  if  I  sincerely  feel  for  them.  I  love  but  few,  and 
to  those  few  I  can  only  put  my  feehngs  on  paper. 

The  Athen^um, 
10/9/94. 

Your  description  of  the  p^re  etfille  whom  you  met  is  too  true.  Lord 
What  a  life  !  How  much  nobler  to  break  stones  on  a  road !  °  ^^' 
To  the  man  whose  first  thought  is  England,  and  who  feels  that 
she  must  sink  or  be  saved  by  her  gentlefolk,  the  contemplation 
of  English  society  is  painful.  I  feel  that  a  country  whose 
upper  classes  live  as  a  certain  set  of  men  and  women  do,  can 
only  be  saved  from  annihilation  by  some  such  upheaval  as  a 
great  war,  which  will  cost  all  the  best  families  their  sons,  and 
call  forth  both  the  worst  animal  passions  and  the  noblest  of 
human  virtues,  and  for  the  time  place  the  very  existence  of 
the  kingdom  in  danger.  I  can  see  why  Gk)d  sends  great  famines 
and  plagues  and  wars.  But,  enough  of  this — London  always 
makes  me  feel  sad  and  morose  ;  yet,  Heaven  knows,  I  am  not 
and  never  have  been  a  pessimist. 

Windsor  Castle, 
22/11/94. 

Travelled  down  here  with  Lord  Breadalbane,^  who  was  very      Lord 
chatty.     Is  he  not  Lord  Steward  ?     At  any  rate,  he  is  some-  ^^^^^^y- 
thing  about  the  Court.     As  we  neared  Windsor,  the  whole 
country  was  like  a  lake,  with  the   castle   as   an   island.    No 
gas,  drinking  water,  or  drainage  in  the  place  for  the  last  week, 
and  people  punting  about  through  the  houses.    A  Royal  carriage 
*  First  Marquess  of  Breadalbane,  K.G. 
21 


322  THE  LETTERS  OF 

to  meet  me,  postillions,  etc.  Met  at  the  door  by  Edward 
Clint  on, 1  which  reminded  me  that  my  old  friend  Cowell  had  gone 
where  I  must  soon  pack  up  my  traps  for.  Was  met  with 
the  question,  "  Did  you  get  Ponsonby's  telegram  ?  "  Good 
heavens,  I  thought  to  myself,  not  another  postponement,  I 
hope — ^no,  but  "  you  and  the  other  Field-Marshal  must  wait 
and  dine  and  sleep."  No  clothes  ;  plenty  of  time  to  send  for 
them,  as  the  Queen  does  not  dine  until  nine  o'clock.  A  long 
voyage  through  Waterloo  Gallery,  St.  George's  Hall,  and  various 
passages,  and  then  up  two  stories  by  a  stone  staircase,  very 
narrow  and  like  the  servants*  staircase  in  most  houses,  brought 
me  to  a  room  I  have  been  in  before.  Several  pictures  :  all 
daubs  :  bad  modern  furniture,  hideous,  but  strong,  massive, 
and  comfortable.  Leather-covered  sofa  and  chairs,  cold  for 
cold  weather,  and  hot -looking  in  hot  summer. 

Rajmer  looking  dignified,  and  evidently  impressed  by  finding 
I  was  shown  to  my  room  by  the  Master  of  the  Household. 
Told  him  he  must  be  off  to  town  as  soon  as  he  had  put  me  into 
my  boots.  He  knew  all  about  it  :  the  housemaid  had  told  him, 
and  very  likely  the  Queen  had  told  her.  Got  into  my  leather 
breeches,  and  was  fastened  into  all  my  beautiful  attire :  looked 
lovely,  but  when  I  tried  to  get  down  the  stairs,  I  never  felt 
anjrthing  more  uncomfortable.  Walking  down  the  corridors, 
I  experienced  all  the  sensations  that  a  cat  must  feel  when 
shod  with  walnut  shells.  How  on  earth,  thought  I,  shall  I 
ever  get  up  if  I  have  to  go  down  on  my  knee  to  make  a  reverence 
before  the  Queen  ?  Dreadful  thought :  felt  getting  red  all  over 
to  match  my  beautiful  coat.  Clinton  i  could  tell  me  nothing  of 
what  the  ceremony  was  to  be,  beyond  the  fact  that  there  was 
a  Guard  of  Honour  and  a  band  ordered  to  be  in  attendance. 
Went  to  the  Red  Drawing-Room  and  found  Sir  D.  Stewart 
there.  He  was  in  plain  clothes.  Seeing  my  boots,  he  said, 
"  Are  you  not  wrong  in  wearing  them  }  "  "No,  according 
to  Queen's  Regulations."  He  would  not  have  it  at  any  price, 
and  said  Sir  H.  Ponsonby  had  given  him  to  understand  that  he 
was  to  wear  gold-laced  overalls.  I  assured  him  he  was  wrong, 
but  he  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  appear  in  what  he  had  brought 
down.  He  also  announced  that  he  could  not  dine  here,  as  all 
his  clothes  had  gone  off  this  afternoon  to  Brocket.     I  heard 

1  Lord  Edward,  second  son  of  fifth  Duke  of  Newcastle,  Master  of  Queen 
Victoria's  Household,  1884-1901. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  323 

him  subsequently  say  to  Henry  Ponsonby,  *'  You  told 
me  overalls."  Ponsonby's  answer  was,  "  I  said  Lev^  dress." 
Would  you  believe  it,  no  one  here  knew  what  was  a  Field- 
Marshal's  Lev^e  dress,  or  knew  what  the  ceremony  was  to  be. 
I  said  I  should  make  an  obeisance,  and  he  said,  "  Quite 
right."  Brassey  was  the  Lord-in- Waiting.  He  did  not 
know  what  he  was  to  do.  The  Batons  were  produced,  and 
an  Equerry,  Lord  Wm.  Cecil,  had  a  velvet  cushion  on  which 
they  were  placed.  Brassey  took  the  cushion  from  Cecil, 
and  Sir  D.  S.,  being  the  senior,  went  in  before  me.  Then  my 
turn  came.  The  Queen  was  in  a  very  tiny  little  room,  the  same 
in  which  she  gave  me  my  G.C.B.,  and  in  which  people  kiss  hands 
when  made  Bishops,  etc.  etc.  Brassey  having  asked  a  servant 
if  he  should  knock  at  the  door,  and  receiving  a  nod  in  reply, 
knocked  with  the  knuckle  of  one  hand  at  the  door,  whilst  he 
held  the  cushion  with-  the  Baton  on  it  with  his  other  hand. 
I  walked  in  ;  the  Queen  bowed  most  graciously  ;  she  had  her 
back  to  the  window — ^it  was  a  Uttle  after  3  p.m. — so  I  could 
not  see  her  face  well.  She  took  the  Baton  from  Uttle  Brassey, 
and  gave  it  to  me  with  a  nice  smile  and  very  great  grace.  I 
made  my  reverence,  she  gave  me  her  hand,  which  I  touched 
with  my  lips,  retreated  two  paces  backwards,  and  got  out  of  the 
door  very  noisily.  The  band  in  the  Square  played  '*  God  save 
the  Queen,"  and  the  Guard  of  Honour  presented  arms  when 
each  of  the  two  Buttons  was  given  away. 

I  forgot  to  say  that  between  my  being  dressed  and  the 
ceremony,  I  had  luncheon  with  the  Lady-in-Waiting — Lady 
Downe — ^the  Maids  of  Honour,  whose  names  I  forget — ^all  in 
black — ^and  the  Lord-in-Waiting.  I  spent  the  remaining  day- 
light in  the  library  with  Mr.  Holmes.  There,  indeed,  I  have 
been  until  I  returned  here,  to  my  own  room,  to  write  you  this. 
I  have  spent  a  delightful  evening  looking  over  engravings  and 
miniatures — oh,  such  Coopers  and  Cosways  ! 

I  should  like  to  be  a  Lord-in-Waiting,  to  live  here  for  one  or 
two  months  every  year.  Brassey  told  me  he  is  going  to  Victoria, 
Australia,  as  Governor.  He  will  make  an  excellent  one.  How 
fortunate  it  is  to  find  men  like  him  who  will  take  such  places ! 
I  hear,  and  believe  it  to  be  true,  that  Sandhurst  goes  to  Bombay 
to  succeed  Harris  as  Governor  there.  I  am  always  glad  when  I 
hear  of  these  places  being  given  to  peers,  for  I  am  sure  it  is 
wise,  nationally,  to  appoint  men  who  are  not  dependent  on  office/; 


324 


THE  LETTERS  OF 


Lord 
Wolseley. 


Lord 
Wolseley, 


The  Athen-s:um,  Pall  Mall,  S.W., 
23/11/94- 

There  is  one  thing  I  should  have  said  about  the  Queen's 
conversation.  We  were  talking  about  the  Czar,  or  rather  I 
mentioned  the  word  Czar,  when  she  pulled  me  up  and  said,  "  I 
am  sure  you  don't  know  how  much  all  the  Royal  Family  of 
Russia  dislike  the  expression  of  '  Czar  ' — ^they  think  it  cuts 
them  off  from  the  European  comity  of  nations,  and  relegates 
them  to  the  East,  and  thrusts  them  back  to  a  time  when  they 
were  always  called  Czars,  when  they  were  still  a  barbarous 
people,  and  barbarous  rulers  over  wild  races  from  the  Eastern 
Steppes.  They  like  being  called  '  Emperor,'  but  do  not 
object  to  the  titles  of  Czarevitch  and  Czarina  for  the  eldest 
son  and  wife  of  the  Emperor."  I  do  not  pretend  to  repeat  her 
words,  but  this  was  what  she  said  in  substance. 

I  wrote  my  name  at  Gloucester  House  last  Tuesday,  and 
to-day  had  a  message  that  H.R.H.  wanted  to  see  me.  I  have 
just  returned  from  my  interview.  He  told  me,  poor  man,  he 
had  lost  the  sight  of  his  right  eye,  and  now  shot  with  a  crooked- 
stocked  gun  for  the  benefit  of  his  left  eye.  I  have  a  telegram  of 
congratulation  from  the  Comtesse  de  Pierrefond.  Telegraph, 
please,  if  she  is  the  Empress  Eugenie. 

Royal  Hospital,  27/11/94. 

I  have  a  few  minutes  to  write,  but  no  ideas  to  put  in  writing. 
I  went  last  night  to  hear  Irving  in  Faust ;  he  had  most  kindly 
given  me  a  box — opposite  the  Viceregal  box,  and  which  held 
eight.  Bertie  Co  well  dined  here,  so  we  went,  a  party  of  four,  and 
had  plenty  of  room.  House  very  full,  piece  not  after  my  own 
heart — I  don't  believe  in  moral  lessons  being  taught  on  the 
stage,  and  the  piece,  Faust — either  as  an  opera  or  as  a  drama 
— ^has  always  seemed  disagreeable  to  me.  I  hate  the  story  from 
beginning  to  end.  I  don't  like  the  Name  of  God  being  bandied 
about  on  the  stage,  and  regard  people  on  their  knees  there  as 
an  impious  exhibition.  I  prefer  comedy  pure  and  simple,  and 
to  keep  my  religious  thoughts  for  the  House  of  God  or  the 
privacy  of  my  own  room. 

After  the  theatre  was  over,  I  went  to  sup  with  Mr.  Irving — 
a  large  party,  too  big  to  admit  of  general  conversation.  I  did 
not  get  home  until  2.30  !  a.m.,  and  lay  in  bed  until  9  a.m. 


WolseUy. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  325 

Altogether,  I  allowed  the  whole  course  of  my  usual  mode  of 
life  to  be  upset  for  this  supper-party.  Irving  went  out  of  his 
way  to  say  he  would  send  me  £20  for  our  MiUtary  Charities, 
that  is,  as  a  subscription  to  help  your  relief  of  misery  amongst 
the  soldiers  in  our  immediate  neighbourhood — ^was  it  not  kind  ? 
I  had  two  Quakers  to  lunch  to-day  :  they  are  here  for 
a  meeting  in  the  interests  of  the  slaves  on  the  West  Coast  of 
Africa.  Neither  of  them  in  any  way  interesting,  and  one 
especially,  the  usual  cut-and-dried  sort  of  fellow  who  supports 
life  on  a  pabulum  of  cant  and  bUnding  unreaHty. 


KiLDARE  Street  Club,  Dublin, 

28th  November  1894. 

I  was  busy  all  the  morning  at  an  article  on  China — I  am  to  get  ^^^o^f 
£100  for  it  !  Then  a  short  gallop  round  the  15  acres ;  I  had  to 
be  back  early  to  meet  our  great  tragedian,  to  show  him  over  the 
Royal  Hospital.  He  came  with  Mr.  Gunn,  who  owns  the  Dublin 
Theatre,  and  he  was  immensely  struck  with  our  Great  Hall. 
I  showed  him  the  Baton,  and  then  he  wrote  me  a  cheque  for 
£21,  in  your  name,  for  the  Wolseley  Fund  for  old  soldiers  and  their 
widows  and  families.  I  shall  keep  it  until  your  return  here,  but 
I  want  you,  if  you  possibly  can,  to  send  him,  by  return  of  post 
to  the  Shelbume  Hotel,  Dublin,  a  little  letter  of  thanks  for 
his  most  noble  and  generous  contribution.  Do  this,  please,  if 
you  can. 

Dr.  Wheeler,  who  wanted  to  see  me  on  a  reorganisation  of 
the  *'  Army  Medical  Department  "  —  oh  dear  me,  such  a 
subject ! — came  to  breakfast  this  morning  and  took  up  all 
my  time,  until  I  went  out  for  my  ride.  Then  a  converted  Jew 
who  has  been  lecturing  in  Dublin  called  :  he  is  a  great  phreno- 
logist and  electrician ;  he  felt  my  head,  and  seemed  to  know  a 
good  deal  about  my  disposition.  He  lunched  with  me,  and  I 
had  barely  time  to  get  into  plain  clothes  to  preside  at  Ardagh's 
lecture.  He  said  when  Lord  Comwallis  abolished  suttee,  he 
interfered  with  an  institution  purposely  intended  to  keep  the 
world  free  from  intriguing  widows,  who  for  centuries  had  been 
the  curse  of  all  Indian  Courts. 

I   pitched   into   Childers^  to-day,  for  on   the  estimate  of 

*  Colonel  Edmund  Spencer  Eardley  Childers,  Lord  Wolseley's  Military 
Secretary,  1890-95. 


326    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

expenses  for  coming  year  he  has  inserted  The  Times,  and  for  him- 
self a  rebel  paper  called  The  Freeman* s  Journal.  He  said  it  had 
been  taken  in  for  fifty  years.  I  said  I  would  not  have  a  paper 
that  dealt  in  personal  abuse.  I  take  Httle  interest  in  politics, 
but  I  draw  a  very  strong  line  between  loyalty  and  disloyalty. 


1 894 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

Royal  Hospital,  Dublin, 
28/6/94. 
I  am  enjoying  Marlboro'  immensely.     It  is  really  delightful      Lady 
reading,  quite  as  good  as  a  French  memoir.     Who  can  say  ^^^^^^' 
more  ?     We  have  no  events  to  tell  you  of,  so  I  can't  make 
an  interesting  letter,  and  I  have  no  news  later  than  Mary  of 
Modena's  death  in  1718,  so  good-bye. 

Royal  Hospital,  23/8/94. 

On  Tuesday  Mrs.  Grant  and  I  made  a  delightful  excursion.  Lady 
By  train  to  Bray,  then  our  vie.  met  us,  and  we  drove  to  ^°^^^^' 
Bellevue  House,  Glen  of  the  Downs,  Mr.  La  Touche's  place. 
The  occupants  are  an  old  bachelor  brother  and  two  old  sisters. 
We  did  not  see  the  old  gentleman,  but  the  ladies  were  most 
kind  and  showed  us  everything.  The  house  is  very  Adams-y, 
with  beautiful  ceihngs  and  chinmey-pieces.  The  gardens  charm- 
ing, and  greenhouses  of  the  date  of  the  house  and  so  graceful  ; 
not  a  bit  Hke  the  ugly  things  of  nowadays. 

Yesterday  we  watched  a  most  exciting  match  between  the 
15th  and  loth  Hussars.  The  latter  won;  so  many  wanted 
the  15th  to  do  so. 

To-morrow  the  Derbyshire  Regiment's  Sports.  The  usual 
tug,  sack  race,  and  wheelbarrow  business,  I  suppose. 

I  have  had  a  letter  from  Lady  Carew,  enclosing  one  from 

Madame  Tomielli,  the  Itahan  Ambassadress,  to  say  the  Duke 

d'Aosta  and  the  Count  of  Turin  are  coming  to  Dublin  next 

Monday  for  the   Horse  Show  week,  and  know  no  one.    Lady 

397 


328  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Carew  is  asked  to  procure  them  some  "  amiable  invitations." 
They  have  taken  rooms  at  an  hotel,  a  horrid  hole,  I  hear,  near 
North  Wall ;  it  seems  inconceivable  that  their  Ex.'s  should  not 
have  been  communicated  with,  so  that  they  could  entertain 
these  princes. 

Royal  Hospital, 
Monday,  27/8/94. 

Lady  Last  night  we  dined  with  His  Ex. ;    only  four  women — 

oseey.  pj-g^j^(,gg  ^.^^  j^  ^^^  j)^^  ^^^  Duchesse  de  Lujmes,  and  Mrs. 

Jekyll.  I  went  into  dinner  with  the  Due  de  L.,  a  young 
man  of  twenty-six,  short,  a  fair  edition — ^a  little  larger — 
of  Alfred  Austin.  They  both  spoke  English  excellently.  She 
seemed  rather  hostile  to  England,  thinks  French  women  ride 
better !  She  is  a  daughter  of  the  Duchesse  d'Uzes  (Boulanger's), 
young,  short,  less  elegante  than  I  expected.  Dress  uninteresting, 
but  lovely  necklace  of  large  pearls,  set  round  with  diamonds,  and 
large  pearl  drops  from  it.  After  dinner  she  discoursed  on  the 
shock  it  gave  her  when  Englishmen  shook  hands,  instead  of 
kissing  her  hand,  also  to  be  addressed  in  a  letter  as  "  Dear  " 
instead  of  as  in  French,  "  Madame  la  Duchesse."  Then  she 
compared  a  Frenchman's  ending  to  his  letter,  *'  Je  depose  a  vos 
pieds  mes  homages  respectueuses  "  to  **  Yours  very  truly." 
She  told  us  that  in  France  the  women  do  not  sign  their  Christian 
names  but  their  maiden  surname.  She  signs  "  d'Uzes  Duchesse 
de  Luynes."  I  think  this  must  only  apply  to  aristocrats  of 
the  first  water.  Certainly  Madame  de  Bassano  always  signs 
to  me  "  Clara  de  Bassano."  The  poor  Ex.'s  smart  people  as 
usual  have  thrown  him  over.  Lady  Brooke  and  young  Princess 
Pless  have  excused  themselves  ;  it  is  inconsiderate  of  them,  I 
must  say. 

Mrs.  Earle  is  full  of  enthusiasm  about  the  German  Nature 
Cure  !  Some  German  has  discovered  that  one's  teeth  are 
exactly  the  same  as  monkeys,  and  therefore  prescribe  their 
food,  nuts  and  fresh  fruit,  and  not  to  drink  anything.  This 
she  carries  out. 

18  Whitehall  Place,  S.W., 
30/10/94. 

Lady  No,  you  will  not  try  the  silent  system  I     I  should  prefer  any 

Woiseiey.  amount  of  blowing  up  to  that ;  you  will  make  allowances  for  a 
tired  body. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  329 

Let  the  A.D.C.'s  do  as  they  like  !  I  am  quite  agreeable. 
Frances  returns  from  the  Dudley  Smiths  to-day.  She  has 
enjoyed  her  visit,  though  it  was  quiet.  I  much  like  the  cutting 
about  your  Crimean  article.  It  is  Maurice,  I  suppose.  Poor 
old  Father  Healy.     Many  will  miss  him. 

Yesterday  we  went  to  a  "  Saturday  Pop  "  with  Holzmann 
and  Dicksee — the  artist.  The  music  excellent,  a  little  too 
good  for  me.  The  Hall  crammed  with  a  breathlessly  attentive 
audience.  All  ugly  and  frumpy.  The  cream  of  Society  is 
evidently  not  musical.  I  am  going  to-morrowto  see  the  palmistry 
lady  and  will  tell  you  what  she  says.  She  told  Frances  that 
her  mother  would  live  to  eighty  and  be  bedridden  for  a  year  or 
more.     It  will  be  curious  if  she  tells  me  the  same. 

We  went  to  see  The  Gaiety  Girl  on  Friday;  Letty  Lind's 
dancing  was  a  dream. 

Walton  House. 

We  have  just  seen  The  New  Boy,  a  most  amusing  farce.     A      Lady 
brother  of  Grossmith's  acted  divinely.     He  is  about  3  feet  high      °  ^^' 
and  looks  thirteen,  and  was  in  the  play  married  to  a  giantess  of 
forty-five.     Hence  much  merriment. 


Penshurst  Place,  Tunbridge, 
2nd  November  '94. 

This  is  an  entrancing  place  !     I  think  it,  if  possible,  more      Lady 
fascinating  even  than  Hatfield.     It  is  so  deUghtfully  rambhng,   ^''^^^^' 
one  could  go  on  for  ever  making  discoveries.     Lord  de  Lisle 
showed  me  the  portrait  of  the  Henry  Sidney  supposed  to  be 
Monmouth's  father. 

The  party  consists  of  the  George  Keppels,  Lord  Sufiield,  Mr. 
Chaplin  (Agriculture),  and  Christopher  Sykes.  Also  a  young 
Mr.  Hill  Trevor.  I  can't  describe  to  you  how  deUghtful  the 
house  is,  and  how  full  of  lovely  and  interesting  things.  The 
palmistry  lady  said  I  was  very  critical,  and  had  great  artistic 
taste  and  feeling  without  the  power  to  do  anjrthing.  The 
fame  in  my  hand  puzzled  her  a  good  deal,  and  she  also  said 
that  I  should  have  been  more  remarkable  if  my  immediate 
connections  had  been  less  distinguished.  She  really  did  not 
know  who  I  was. 


Wolseley. 


330    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

Royal  Hospital, 

10th  December  1894. 

^y^  I  have  been  reading  Mrs.  Ritchie's  new  book,  Chapters 
^""^  from  Some  Memoirs.  She  says  of  d'Orsay :  "  He  was  of  that 
race  with  Byron  who  lived  in  the  beginning  of  the  century, 
magnificent  performers  of  life's  commonplaces  \'*  In  another 
book,  George  Sand's  Histoire  de  ma  Vie,  I  have  come  across  odds 
and  ends  about  Marshal  Saxe.  He  was  her  great-grandfather. 
He  delighted  in  rancid  butter  !  His  mother  married  him  at 
seventeen  to  a  Comtesse  Loben  whom  he  disliked.  In  fact,  he 
did  not  want  to  marry,  and  was  only  induced  to  because  her 
name  happened  to  be  Victoire. 

We  feel  a  very  shrunk  party  of  two,  without  the  bright 
little  scarlet  jacket,  and  the  warm  heart  under  it,  between  us 
at  dinner. 

The  Archdeacon  writes  me  that  the  Archbishop  has  already 
secured  him  to  preach  at  Christ  Church  on  Saturday  morning 
next,  at  11  a.m.,  so  we  must  give  him  up.  I  have  written  to  tell 
Goodwin.  The  Archdeacon  also  says  the  Archbishop  wished 
him  to  preach  in  St.  Pat's,  but  the  Dean  gave  the  same  answer 
about  his  School  Board  opinions  and  wouldn't  have  him  I  I 
thought  an  Archb.  was  like  a  Pope. 


1 895 

[In  the  summer  of  1895  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  resigned  his 
post  as  Commander-in-Chief,  and  Sir  Redvers  Duller  was  his 
successor  elect.  But  before  the  appointment  could  be  patented. 
Lord  Rosebery's  Government  was  defeated,  and  Lord  Salisbury 
on  taking  ofi&ce  insisted  on  placing  Lord  Wolseley  at  the  head  of 
the  army — the  circumstances  of  the  position  being,  however, 
somewhat  altered  as  well  as  the  title.  Meanwhile  the  Embassy 
at  Berlin  had  been  offered  to  him.] 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

The  Athen^um, 
April  Fools'  Day,  1895. 

London  is  certainly  the  loneliest  spot  in  the  world  for  any  Lord 
man  over  fifty,  but  for  one  nearly  sixty-two  it  is  sad  as  well  as  '^^^^^' 
lonely.  If  you  are  fond  of  theatres,  can  find  any  amusement 
in  music  halls  and  in  the  society  of  women  whose  character 
has  long  ceased  to  be  doubtful,  London  has  many  attractions. 
I  remember  aU  these  sensations,  perhaps  some  of  my  sadness 
arises  from  feeling  that  so-called  pleasures  are  for  me  no  longer. 
I  dined  here  and  sat  next  Henry  James.  He  had  been  writing 
all  day  and  his  appetite  was  prodigious  in  consequence. 

The  Athen^um,  Pall  Mall,  S.W., 

2/4/95. 

I  have  had  such  a  day  of  it,  and  have  interviewed  and  been      Lord 
interviewed  tiU  I  feel  dazed.     H.R.H.  looks  quite  weU,  I  think,   ^''^^^' 
and  will  hve  for  years  yet.    He  suffers  just  as  you  do  at  this 
moment  with  rheumatism  in  the  right  shoulder  and  cannot  Uft 
his  pen  to  dip  it  in  the  ink,  though  he  can  write  quite  well. 

Buller  asked  me  if  I  would  take  Chelsea.     I  said  yes,  on  the 
distinct  understanding  that  it  was  not  to  cut  me  out  of  work 


332  THE  LETTERS  OF 

when  H.R.H.  dies  or  leaves.  Gipps  tells  me  he  supposes  I  shall 
have  the  Blues  ;  I  reminded  him  of  his  letter  when  he  offered  me 
the  Coldstream.  You  will  see  by  enclosed  that  we  now  have 
the  entree. 

The  Athen^um,  Pall  Mall,  S.W., 

Wednesday  Evening,  24/4/95. 

Lord  I  have  just  returned  here  from  dining  with  Mr.  Nineteenth- 

Wolseley.  Century  Knowles.  A  pleasant  dinner — all  men — Sir  Wm. 
Grantham  (a  Judge),  Lord  Dundonald,  Lord  Duncannon 
(Peel's  private  secretary),  Jim  Lowther,  the  one-armed  man 
who  is  head  of  the  Police,^  and  a  son-in-law  of  Knowles — 
name  unknown.  A  general  feeling  that  the  Government  will 
be  turned  out  on  the  second  reading  of  "  Local  Veto  Bill." 
Knowles  asked  me  to  write  for  him — said  yes.  To-day  I  mistook 
the  Fieldens'  house  and  went  into  the  corner  house  opposite 
Grosvenor  Hotel,  in  which  I  think  Mr.  Hozier  used  to  live.  Was 
shown  into  a  stately  room  with  some  nice  things  in  it.  Down 
came  a  little  man  not  more  than  5  feet  high,  who  seemed  de- 
lighted to  see  me.  Said  his  wife  was  out.  Sat  with  him  as 
long  as  a  decent  visit  should  last.  Sydney  Glyn  afterwards 
told  me  he  was  an  immensely  rich  Jew  whose  sister  is  the 
Baroness  de  Worms. 

Garland's  Hotel, 
5th  May  1895. 

vv^iPA,  ^  enjoyed  my  Academy  dinner,  and  although  poor  Millais 

had  a  very  bad  throat,  and  even  when  talking  to  you  can 
scarcely  make  himself  heard,  I  like  his  manly,  hearty,  touching 
and  English  English  a  thousand  times  more  than  all  the  lingual 
confectionery  with  which  Leighton  usually  indulged  us.  I 
always  remember  when  he  called  upon  the  Archbishop  of  York 
to  return  thanks  for  some  toast  for  which  the  other  Primate 
from  Lambeth  had  been  named  and  had  his  speech  prepared. 
Little  Maclagan  had  just  tried  to  say  a  word,  when  Millais  ex- 
plained his  mistake,  and  Cantuar  plunged  into  a  speech  to 
which  no  one  paid  any  attention.  Last  night  a  bald-headed 
gentleman  spoke  for  music  for  about  half  an  hour,  but,  after  the 
first  two  minutes,  conversation  went  on  as  usual,  and  Mr.  Pinero 
1  Sir  Edward  Bradford. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  333 

met  with  the  same  fate,  except  that  now  and  then  his  stentorian 
voice  rose  above  the  clatter  of  tongues.  These  people  give  their 
speeches  type-printed  to  the  reporters ;  why  don't  they  sit  down 
when  they  find  that  no  one  is  Hstening  to  them  ?  It  would 
be  all  the  same  in  the  newspapers  on  Monday.  Rosebery  just 
failed  to  be  witty.  I  sat  next  to  Dufferin  on  one  side  and 
Windsor  on  the  other.  The  former  is  very  deaf  and  con- 
sequently difficult  to  converse  with,  especially  as  his  worst  ear 
was  next  me.  He  thanked  me  for  our  kindness  to  his  son,  but 
I  couldn't  remember  that  we  ever  did  anything  for  him. 

Prince  Edward  told  me  that  Roberts  will  go  to  Ireland  if  he 
is  offered  the  place,  so  I  presume  that  point  is  now  settled.  The 
Duke  of  Cambridge  spoke  to  me  about  Roberts,  not  in  honeyed 
terms.  Prince  Edward  likes  Kempe's  sketch  of  the  window  for 
the  Royal  Hospital  and  is  very  glad  to  go  shares  in  putting  it  up. 
Mr.  Asquith  inquired  much  after  you,  and  said  that  he  hoped  he 
and  his  wife  would  see  a  good  deal  of  you  when  we  settled  here 
and  when  you  came  back  in  June.  However,  he  told  me  that 
his  wife  hourly  expected  an  event,  so  I  suppose  she  will  not  be 
quite  fit  so  soon. 

I  wish  I  were  with  you  to  read  about  Csesar's  passage  of  the 
Rhine  !  How  delightful  it  is  to  read  about  the  great  men  of  the 
past  when  one  has  had  to  dine  with  the  comparative  pigmies 
of  the  present  and  to  hear  First  Ministers  of  State  hold  forth  on 
nothings  at  a  banquet  ! 


Glenbeigh,  5/6/95. 

Oh,  what  air  we  have  here  !  I  wonder  how  you  would  like  Lord 
it  ?  but  then  it  is  Ireland,  and  you  are  strongly  prejudiced  against  ^^^^^' 
ever3rthing  on  this  side  of  St.  George's  Channel.  You  would, 
however,  like  the  gorse  and  the  broom,  and  the  quantities  of 
yellow  iris  and  the  luxuriant  ferns  and  fuchsias  which  here 
grow  into  trees,  and  where  all  save  the  spirit  of  man  is  holy 
and  pleasing  to  every  sense  that  is  within  me,  at  least.  The 
sea  and  its  sea- weedy  smell  has  a  great  charm  for  me.  I  look 
out  over  the  long  low  ridge  of  sandy  dunes,  where  the  batteries 
practise,  to  the  sea  beyond,  where  the  tide  breaks  upon 
what  is  evidently  a  bar.  The  line  of  white  foam,  and  the  deep 
blue  sea  around  this  narrow  streak  of  white,  and  the  distant 
hazy  mountains  beyond  the  bay,  but  coming  right  down  into 


334  THE  LETTERS  OF 

it,  form  a  peaceful  landscape  that  bespeaks  peace.  And  yet 
these  savages  are  a  howling,  begging  lot  of  savages,  who  will 
not  work  except  in  their  own  lazy  fashion,  and  to  whom 
dastardly  murder  is  no  crime.  Their  murders  are  always  of  a 
cowardly  nature.  There  is  no  question  of  a  fair  stand-up  fight, 
but  a  sneaking  rascal  pots  you  in  safety  from  behind  a  wall,  and 
the  whole  cowardly  population  seek  to  screen  him  from  the 
crime  he  has  committed,  and  which  he  is  quite  willing  to  repeat 
any  number  of  times  until  some  hangman  puts  an  end  to  his 
infamous  career. 

Copenhagen,  E.S.  "  Mirror," 
23/6/95. 

Lord  Before   you  can   get   this,  the   news  of   the  Government 

Woiseiey.  ^jgf^^^  ^jj  j^g^^g  reached  you.  I  presume  from  Rosebery 
going  to  Windsor  immediately  after,  that  his  abject  lot  have 
resigned.  They  will  have  to  finish  Supply,  and  then  there 
will  be  a  general  election.  But  what  interests  me,  person- 
ally, is  that  Mr.  Campbell-Bannerman  announced  in  the 
House  of  Commons  that  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  would 
retire  on  ist  October  next  (i.e.  the  day  my  time  ends  in 
Dublin). 

This  morning  we  all  had  an  audience  of  the  King.  Of 
course  that  was  got  up  by  dear  old  Pender,  who  loves  Kings  and 
Princes.  I  went  in  the  undress  uniform,  the  civilians  went  in 
white  ties  and  evening  clothes,  looking  as  if  they  were  waiters 
in  want  of  a  place.  The  King  was  in  walking  dress,  and  spoke 
to  every  one.  He  asked  me  if  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  had 
resigned.  I  had  not  then  seen  the  telegram,  so  I  said  I  did  not 
believe  it.  He  replied  he  hoped  it  was  not  true.  He  had 
much  difficulty  in  finding  something  to  say  to  each  of  us  that 
would  be  more  or  less  apropos.  His  voice  and  accent  was 
exactly  like  that  of  the  Princess  of  Wales.  In  the  afternoon 
to  the  old  Castle  of  Rosenborg,  now  a  Royal  Museum,  where 
all  the  most  precious  possessions  of  the  Kings  of  Denmark  for 
the  last  four  hundred  years  are  deposited.  Such  miniatures, 
such  paintings  and  enamels.  Beautiful  ceilings  :  the  floors  of 
black  and  white  marble  set  chess-wise,  and  the  chairs  and 
tables  used  by  Kings  when  our  Charles  11.  was  selling  Eng- 
land to  Louis  XIV.  Copenhagen  is  the  prettiest  town  in 
Europe. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  335 

The  Athenjeum,  Pall  Mall, 
'^S/7/9'S-    6.15  p.m. 
I  have  been  so  hard  at  it  all  day  that  I  am  tired  talking  to      Lord 
friends  and  hearing  their  chorus  that  it  must  not,  it  cannot  be.   ^°^^^^' 
I  have  barely  time  to  tell  you  anything,  but  will  write  again 
from  Dubhn  to-morrow.     M'Neill  came  here  to  see  me.     He  has 
sent  on  my  letter  to  Bigge,  saying  he  thought  the  Queen  should 
see  it  immediately,  and  that  in  his  opinion  there  was  only  one 
man  for  the  place,  and  that  man  was  "Jo."  ^    As  soon  as  M'Neill 
hears  from  Bigge  he  will  let  me  know  the  result.     I  have  just 
this  moment  been  interrupted  by  little  Alf,  who  will  see  '*  Sahs- 
bury  "  on  Wednesday  and  tackle  him  on  this  point.     He  scouts 
the  notion  of  "  Devon  "  ^  being  given  the  place.     There  was  some 
thought  of  Lansdowne — ^who  in  future  I  shall  call  "  Kerry," 
because  he  has  property  there,  both  in  letters  and  telegrams — 
putting  in  Roberts,  but  I  fancy  that  is  over. 

8/8/95,  or  rather  9/8/95,  for  it 
is  nearly  i  a.m. 

I  have  sat  up  to  write  my  answer  to  Lansdowne.  You  Lord 
never  told  me  which  of  the  two  places  you  would  choose,  so  I  ^  ^^' 
have  had  to  elect  off  my  own  bat.  I  beheve  it  will  be  the  best 
for  Frances,  and  I  hope  the  most  agreeable  for  both  you  and 
me.  I  should  have  liked  to  have  you  here  ;  first,  to  tell  me 
whether  you  prefer  Berlin  or  Pall  Mall,  and  secondly  to  correct 
my  answer.  I  feel  as  the  man  condemned  to  death  must  feel 
when  suddenly  reprieved. 

Royal  Hospital,  14/8/95. 

I  leave  this  to-morrow  for  "Hazlewood,  SHgo,"  until  Lord 
Wednesday,  21st,  unless  I  am  called  to  London.  I  fancy  the  an-  ^^^^''^^y- 
nouncement  will  soon  be  made.  I  suppose  Lansdowne  has  settled 
it  with  the  Queen,  and  is  now  in  a  position  to  tell  Buller.  Hurrah! 
Thank  God.  I  cannot  tell  you  how  my  heart  rejoices,  and  how 
grateful  I  feel  to  God  for  this  blessing.  I  have  an  idea  the  re- 
maining months  of  this  year  are  to  bring  me  luck. 

I  hope  the  Queen  will  not  resent  my  having  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  her  reiterated  message  of  the  Emperor's  anxiety  to  have  me 
at  Berlin. 

1  "(Jo  "  and  "  Devon  "  private  code  words  for  Wolseley  and  Buller. 


336  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  want,  when  leaving  this  next  month,  to  present  each  man 
in  the  Hospital  with  a  nice  brierwood  pipe — 150  pipes.  Please 
get  the  Army  and  Navy  or  other  stores  to  send  me  these. 

The  very  moment  you  see  our  secret  announced  in  the 
papers  as  a  communique,  please  send  me  a  wire  saying,  "  News 
published." 

Hazlewood,  Sligo, 
16th  August  1895. 

Lord  I  have  just  this  moment  read  the  leader  in  the  Times  of 

Woiseiey.  yesterday  about  me.  As  that  paper  has  always  been  very  much 
down  upon  me,  I  am  grateful  now  for  its  small  mercies.  It 
accuses  me  most  unfairly  of  having  spoken  at  times  disparagingly 
of  the  Navy.  That  is  absolutely  untrue.  Far  from  it,  I  have 
said,  in  a  public  speech — more  than  once,  I  think — ^that  if  we  had 
only  one  million  to  spend  on  defences,  I  would  spend  it  on  our 
Navy,  our  first,  our  only  great  line  of  defence.  But  the  Times 
had  to  say  something  disagreeable  about  me  to  make  up  for 
sa57ing  anything  in  my  praise,  so  let  it  pass. 

Royal  Hospital,  23/8/95. 
Lord  ]\|y  table  is  so  encumbered  with  letters   and  telegrams, 

all  of  which  must  be  answered,  that  I  felt  the  glass  of  port  I 
drank  at  luncheon  get  more  and  more  into  my  head  as  I  looked 
at  them.  But  I  do  in  my  heart  appreciate  them,  for  I  feel  that 
a  considerable  proportion  are  sincere.  I  did  not  know  I  had  so 
many  good  friends.  I  have  to-day  had  a  very  nice  note  from 
Roberts  which  I  will  send  you  to-morrow  when  I  have  answered 
it.  I  enclose  copy  of  letter  I  wrote  before  breakfast  to  H.R.H.  : 
tell  me  frankly  if  you  approve  or  otherwise.  I  know  the  old 
gentleman  likes  and  dislikes  me  by  turns,  just  as  I  do  him.  But 
he  is  down  in  his  luck,  and  I  feel  for  him,  and  picture  to  myself 
what  I  shall  feel  five  years  hence  when  my  turn  comes  to  make 
my  bow  and  retire  for  ever  from  the  Military  stage — ^that  is,  if  I 
live  so  long.  I  have  now  no  chance  of  djdng  like  a  soldier  in 
harness  in  the  open  air,  and  with  my  face  towards  England's 
enemy. 

I  dined  with  His  Ex.  again  last  night.  He  was  exceedingly 
nice  ;  asked  me  to  stay  with  him  at  the  Lodge,  and  if  I  would  not 
do  that  to  dine  or  lunch  there  whenever  I  wished.  Nothing 
could  be  more  agreeable  than  he  was  to  every  one.     He  cannot 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  337 

ride,  and  although  he  has  a  thoroughly  broken  horse,  he  only 
just  maintains  himself  on  it. 

I   must  don  my  red   jacket   for  dinner.     I  hope  you  got 
the  Punch  with  the  picture  of  "  Cambridge  and  Wolseley." 

BUNCRANA,  13/9/95. 

We  had  a  large  party  of  young  people  at  Crom,  and  sat  Lf^d 
down  some  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  each  night.  I  was  ^oiseiey. 
never  with  a  brighter  set,  all  determined  to  amuse  themselves, 
and  from  Erne  down  not  one  ashamed  to  play  the  fool,  when  by 
doing  so  he  or  she  could  contribute  to  the  general  hilarity  of  the 
moment.  Lady  Erne  is,  as  you  know,  a  sister  of  Lord  Ennis- 
killen,  and,  as  Florence  Court  is  not  far  off,  the  young  people 
of  both  houses  are  very  lies.  There  were  Lady  Kathleen  Cole ; 
a  daughter  of  Evelyn  Ashley's,  who  is  engaged  to  be  married  ; 
a  tall  girl  from  the  north  of  England,  whose  name  I  forget 
for  the  moment ;  General  and  Miss  Thesiger ;  Dick  Moreton  1 
and  his  handsome  Eastern-looking  daughter ;  Charley  Crichton, 
his  son  and  daughter,  the  latter  looking  very  pretty  ;  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Seely ;  a  young  Eliot,  son  of  Chas.  Eliot  ;  then  a  young 
and  very  charming  daughter  of  the  Ernes  ;  an  old  lady — very 
old — Miss  Cole  ;  and  a  son  of  Colonel  Sanderson,  brother  of  the 
boy  in  the  Rifle  Brigade.  The  life  and  soul  of  the  whole  party 
were  Lord  Crichton  and  a  younger  brother.  Both  very  nice 
and  full  of  fun.  The  elder  is  being  seriously  laid  siege  to. 
I  believe  it  is  very  amusing  to  watch  her ;  her  machinations 
to  get  near  him,  to  get  him  to  talk  to  her,  form  a  most  interest- 
ing study.  The  house  is  large,  well  kept,  plenty  of  servants, 
a  deer  park  round  it,  a  river  and  a  lake  running  through  the 
park,  well  stocked  with  boats  and  yachts  and  steam-launches 
of  every  sort  and  kind.  Lord  Crichton  has  an  excellent  voice 
and  is  very  good  at  charades  and  all  that  class  of  amusement. 


Baron's  Court,  Ireland, 
i$th  September  1895. 

A  large  house-party  here.    Lords  Claud  and  Frederick  H.,      Lord 
and  a  small  son^  of  the  former;  a  daughter  of  Lord  Water-  ^°^^^' 

1  The  Hon.  Sir  Richard  Moreton. 

»  Now  Lieut.-Colonel  Gilbert  Hamilton,  Grenadier  Guards. 
23 


338  THE  LETTERS  OF 

ford ;  and  Miss  Wilson-Patten,  who  plays  the  violoncello  d, 
merveille ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  James,  who  is  equally  good — ^better — 
on  the  piano ;  Lord  and  Lady  Hamilton.  The  place  looks 
lovely,  for  the  sun  is  out  and  the  lights  and  shades  everywhere 
make  pictures  all  round. 

I  go  to  Omagh  to-morrow  and  return  here  to  dine  and  sleep. 
On  the  17th,  Tuesday,  I  go  on  to  Ballyshannon  and  sleep  at 
**  Cliff,  Belleek,"  near  there,  where  I  propose  remaining  until 
Friday  night  or  Saturday  morning,  when  I  leave  for  Dublin. 


Brocket  Hall,  Hatfield, 
9/10/95. 

Lord  We  drove  yesterday  to  Panshanger — ^the  Park  much  larger 

Wolseiey.  -^^^  ^-^q  house  not  so  livable  in  as  this  charming  house  which 
only  wants  a  *'  clearing  out  "  of  a  good  deal  of  rubbish  to  be  about 
the  most  delightful  place  one  could  have.  Host  and  hostess 
both,  as  you  know,  kindness,  gentleness,  and  hospitality  itself. 
John  M'Neill  went  to  town  to-day  to  look  after  the  "  place  "  of 
Black  Rod,  just  vacant.  It  is,  he  says,  in  the  Queen's  gift, 
and  I  hope  he  may  get  it,  as  he  wants  it.  Oh,  what  a  dehghtful 
thing  it  would  be  to  have  a  country  house,  no  matter  how  small ! 
The  more  I  visit  London  the  more  I  hate  it,  and  the  more  I  see 
of  the  country  the  more  I  like  it. 

As  I  write  this  the  bells  from  Colwich  Church  are  ringing  in 
my  ears.  Such  a  peaceful  place.  There  is  not  another  sound 
upon  the  earth  or  in  the  air  to  be  heard,  not  even  the  rustle  of 
leaves,  for  there  is  no  breath  of  air  to  stir  them.  I  long  to  be 
altogether  away  from  the  turmoil  of  life,  no  stupid  A.D.C.'s  or 
careless  housemaids,  no  grooms  that  lame  horses  or  butlers  and 
footmen  who  stir  one's  anger  every  hour,  and  no  kitchenmaids 
who  let  the  smell  of  bacon  pervade  the  house. 


Blenheim  Home  Lodge,  Woodstock, 
21/10/95. 

Lord  I  don't  often  ask  you  to  do  me  a  favour,  so  I  hope  you  will 

oiseley.  ^^^  refuse  this  one.  It  is  that  you  should  employ  Miss  Graham 
to  do  your  likeness.  Please  make  an  appointment  with  her 
for  some  early  date — I  don't  think  you  will  refuse  me  this. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  339 

I  have  been  grubbing  away  all  day.  My  shorthand  writer, 
a  fine  ex-soldier,  has  his  nose  to  the  grindstone  from  2.15  until 
past  6.  A  stately  butler — ^formerly  a  private  in  the  Blues — ^and 
a  footman  impregnated  with  tobacco  smoke  and  smelling  like 
an  old  dirty  pipe,  and  who  taints  the  air  and  atmosphere  even  of 
the  Great  Gallery,  bring  me  in  tea  and  bread  and  butter  at  5  p.m. 
I  share  it  with  my  uncomplaining  Sergeant.  As  I  sit  alone  in 
the  Great  Gallery  here,  with  only  some  candles  on  the  table  near 
me,  I  hear  the  flooring  and  the  panelHng  crack  very  often.  There 
are  always  noises  in  it  when  the  place  is  quite  quiet,  and 
each  time  I  turn  round  and  should  not  be  surprised  if  I  saw 
Marlborough  standing  beside  me. 

Mr.  Angas,  with  whom  I  stay,  is  a  very  nice  fellow :  son  of  a 
Yorkshire  farmer,  he  understands  all  about  farming  and  bulls 
and  top-dressing,  and  is  a  devoted  admirer  of  the  horse.  The 
house  he  lives  in  is  called  the  China  House,  as  in  it  was  kept 
all  the  valuable  old  china  of  the  Palace.  He  has  written  to  you 
to-day  to  tell  you  about  the  trains,  and  he  has  arranged  to  have 
the  great  Birmingham  organist  to  come  here  on  Saturday  to 
play  the  splendid  organ  in  the  Palace  for  you. 

Blenheim  is  certainly  a  princely  possession,  and  the  two 
millions  with  Miss  Vanderbilt  will  be  a  boon. 


Blenheim  Home  Lodge,  Woodstock, 
24/10/95. 

I  saw  little  of  the  day,  for  I  spent  from  10.30  a.m.  to  7  p.m.  Lord 
in  the  Long  Gallery  working  at  the  Marlborough  papers,  giving  ^°^^^^' 
my  unfortunate  shorthand  writer  but  an  hour  between  i  and 
2  p.m.  for  his  dinner.  I  expect  him  to  strike  work  every  morn- 
ing, but  he  is  most  cheerful  and  quite  contented.  But  he  is 
a  soldier,  so  that  accounts  for  his  pluck  and  uncomplaining 
endurance.  A  civilian  would  have  left  by  the  fastest  train  after 
his  first  day's  imprisonment  with  me. 


Balmoral  Castle, 
2/11/95. 
I  made  a  good  journey  here,  and  put  in  an  amount  of  sleep      Lord 
that  will  last  me  for  some  time.    It  was  cold,  and  I  did  not   Woiseiey, 


340  THE  LETTERS  OF 

enjoy  being  detained  two  hours  at  Aberdeen  for  a  train  to 
Ballater.  There,  I  was  met  by  a  fly  which  brought  me  in  an 
hour  to  this  Castle. 

I  was  very  much  amused  this  afternoon,  when  out  for  a 
walk  with  Colonel  Bigge,  to  see  a  closed  landau  pass.  In 
fact,  we  had  to  leave  the  drive  and  stand  in  the  snow  to  let 
it  go  by.  The  windows  were  open,  so  I  asked  who  was  the 
"  Baboo  '*  sort  of  fellow  I  saw  within  it  with  a  large  turban. 
"  Oh,  that  is  the  Queen's  moonshee  and  his  wife  and  mother," 
I  was  told.  "  They  go  out  in  the  carriage  every  day."  One 
must  have  been  in  India  to  realise  the  position  of  the  man  who 
is  thus  provided  with  a  carriage,  while  the  Field-Marshal,  at 
the  head  of  the  Queen's  Army,  drives  in  a  fly.  Bigge  consulted 
me  (!)  as  to  whether  I  should  or  should  not  kiss  the  Queen's 
hand.  I  said  it  must  be  as  the  Queen  liked,  but  my  idea  was 
that  I  should  do  so. 

A  message  came  from  the  Queen  as  Bigge  was  talking  to  me 
in  my  room,  to  say  the  Queen  would  see  me  after  lunch.  I 
went  to  lunch  in  my  best  frock-coat  to  be  ready  for  my  Audience. 
Lady  Ampthill  was  the  Lady-in-Waiting,  and  she  left  the 
Castle  for  London  after  luncheon.  Miss  Lambart,  Mrs.  Mallet, 
nee  Adeane  (Lady  Elizabeth  Biddulph's  daughter),  two  acting 
ladies  whose  names  I  forget,  Aleck  Yorke,  young  Ponsonby, 
a  curiously-made  old  Indian  General  who  might  apparently 
have  been  at  the  battle  of  Plassey,  a  doctor,  name  unknown,  and 
a  stout  man  who  looked  like  a  German.  This  was  our  luncheon 
party. 

After  luncheon,  I  was  ushered  into  a  room,  where  the  Queen 
was  alone  on  a  chair  in  the  middle  of  the  room.  She  half  got 
up  and  curtsied,  and  I  knelt  and  kissed  her  hand.  She  said, 
"  I  must  sit,  I  cannot  stand."  She  was  very  gracious,  and  said 
I  had  been  very  nice  and  kind  about  the  Duke  of  Connaught, 
but  she  thinks  he  will  be  my  successor.  I  asked  her  if  she 
would  like  him  to  be  Adjutant-General.  She  said  Arthur 
wouldn't  hear  of  that,  and  he  is  very  happy  where  he  is.  She 
evidently  hopes  to  keep  him  on  at  Aldershot  for  the  next  five 
years,  which  might  be  a  little  hard  upon  the  rising  Generals. 
However,  that  is  a  matter  the  S.  of  S.  will  have  to  settle.  The 
Queen  is  looking  well  and  healthy,  and  seemed  in  good  spirits. 
God  preserve  her  life.  She  is  having  some  private  theatricals 
to-night,  in  which  Aleck  Yorke,  of  course,  plays  the  chief  part 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  341 

and    is   the   organiser.    I   shall   tell  you  of    them  when  we 
meet. 

Every  one  here  longs  to  go  South.  The  whole  country  is 
under  snow,  and  with  its  pine  woods  and  silver  birch  reminds 
one  of  Canada  in  winter. 


i895 


CHAPTER  XXV 

Pfalzer  Hof,  Weinheim,  Baden,  Germany, 
May  1895. 

Lady  We  had  to  wait  an  hour  in  Frankfort  and  came  on  here  by 

Woiseiey.  ^j^^l^  ^j^gy  ^^n  ^j^g  Bumbel,  the  slow  train.  Pannebakker  ^  met 
us  enthusiastically  at  this  station,  and  had  a  landau  and  pair, 
coachman  with  white  gloves,  like  a  wedding,  waiting  for  us. 
She  drove  us  first  to  her  pretty  villa,  and  after  tea  brought  us 
to  this  primitive  German  inn.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  wooded 
hills,  on  one  side,  with  old  castles  on  them  (fifth  century  I). 
I  walked  into  the  town  to-day,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  a 
nice,  quiet  old  place  where  no  one  is  in  a  hurry.  It  does 
one's  nerves  good.  We  have  lunched  with  Pannebakker  ;  she 
makes  the  pupils  wait  at  table,  which  makes  one  feel  rather 
uncomfortable !  Then  she  took  us  for  a  lovely  drive  through 
a  very  thriving-looking  country,  large  well-to-do  farms,  and 
orchards — all  in  blossom — and  vineyards  everywhere.  I  think 
we  shall  like  this  place  !  Poor  Mitchell  hates  it.  The  paving- 
stones  hurt  her  corns ;  there  are  no  maids  and  no  shops  ! 

Have  you  ordered  your  Blues  uniform  ?  I  want  you  to 
send  Miss  Pannebakker  a  signed  F.M.  photo  by  Werner.  We 
found  our  hotel  rooms  filled  with  her  little  attentions — ^scented 
soap,  chocolates,  stamps,  books,  and  prints. 

Pfalzer  Hof,  Weinheim, 
19/5/95. 
Lady  I  am  reading  the  letters  of  Andr^  Ampere ;  he  was  a  great 

°  ^^^'  scientific,  electrical  Frenchman  who  lived  about  1804.      He 
^  Sometime'govemess  to  the  present  Lady  Woiseiey. 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY    343 

had  a  wife  he  was  very  fond  of,  and  he  writes  her  most  charming 
letters.  She  died  very  soon,  and  he  married  again  and  was 
very  unhappy.  He  is  very  modest  and  simple,  and  he  was, 
I  beUeve,  a  great  discoverer  in  Science.  He  and  she  were  very, 
very  poor,  and  their  Httle  shifts  were  very  touching. 

Do  not  hastily  sell  our  little  round  tables  and  ball  chairs, 
and  I  would  certainly  not  sell  those  half-circles  for  lighting  the 
rooms.  As  we  pay  a  lump  sum  for  moving  our  things  to  Green- 
wich, I  would  take  all  I  could.  We  can  sell  them  there  if, 
after  all,  we  do  not  want  them.  You  will  get  nothing  for  them 
in  Dublin,  and  if  you  succeed  H.R.H.  you  will  want  them  again. 
You  are  always  in  a  hurry  to  sell  for  nothing  !  and  it  costs  so 
much  to  buy  again.  Madame  Ampdre  would  have  said  all 
that  to  him,  because  he  was,  like  you,  too  interested  in  big 
things  to  do  little  things  with  attention  ! 

I  told  you  I  had  been  reading  Le  Rhin,  by  Victor  Hugo.  I 
was  charmed  by  it.  He  writes  very  simply,  whereas  I  always 
fancied  he  was  a  wild  dreamer. 


5   KiSSELEFF  StRASSE,   HOMBURG, 

6/6/95. 

Yesterday  we  saw  the  Empress  Frederick,  as  she  paid  a  visit  Lady 
to  a  Court  Minister  and  his  daughter  who  are  staying  here.  ^°^^  ^ 
She  had  a  modest  victoria  and  pair,  the  servants  had  shoulder 
knots  and  aiguillettes — like  an  F.M.  !  She  is  very  like  the 
Queen,  with  less  presence.  When  she  came  out  to  get  into  the 
carriage,  there  were  such  bows,  and  hand-kissings,  and  curtsies 
from  her  host  and  daughter.  She  plumped  heavily  behind  the 
coachman — where  you  are  not  allowed  to  sit  ! — ^and  the  Crown 
Princess  of  Greece  who  was  with  her  had  to  go  round  to  the 
other  side  of  the  carriage  to  get  in.  We  snohs  watched  it  all, 
hidden  by  a  bush  from  the  all-seeing  Royal  eye.  You  never 
told  me  if  I  ought  to  write  my  name  for  her  at  Cronberg  before 
I  leave. 

Mitchell  and  I  took  a  long  walk  out  to  the  "  big  fir  wood  " 
(not  fur,  sir  !)  and  back.  We  were  going  over  two  hours.  It 
is  the  beginning  of  an  immense  forest  which  covers  all  the  hills 
near  here.  The  Germans  do  things  very  thoroughly.  There 
are  seats  everywhere,  and  coloured  indications  on  the  trees, 
corresponding  with  a  map  which  one  can  buy,  so  that  you  can 


344  THE  LETTERS  OF 

never  lose  your  way.     F.  and  I  are  going  out  there  to-day,  to 
spend  the  whole  day,  with  our  books,  etc. 


5  KissELEFF  Strasse,  Homburg, 
17/6/95. 

ykhde  ^^  DEAREST  HusBAND  (not  that  I  have  several !),— I  think 

of  you  at  Hamburg,  and  wish  it  were  spelt  with  an  **  o."  I 
wonder  how  you  will  like  the  German  life  at  Hamburg ;  but  I 
dare  say  you  will  just  live  like  English  fighting  cocks.  We 
find  your  recommend  ^uch  a  bore.  I  should  say  he  is  the  poorest 
of  poor  creatures — ^lazy,  self-indulgent,  and  a  snob.  The  old 
father  is  worth  twenty  of  him.  I  am  glad  Hamley's  Memoirs 
find  dispassionate  readers,  as  shown  by  the  cuttings. 

5  KissELEFF  Strasse, 
21/6/95. 

Lady  Yesterday  we  drove  to  Nauheim.'^;^  W^r^^^^^^^^^^iS^^I^i^^^^ 

^  victoria,  and  of  course  I  did  not  start  till  the  bearing  reins  were 
taken  off.  Then  Sir  Thomas  Lauder  took  us  to  a  pretty  old  town 
'*  Friedburg,'*  with  a  fine  mediaeval  tower,  and  a  quaint  1604 
Schloss  where  Princess  Alice  of  Hesse  lived  before  he  became 
Grand  Duke.  When  I  was  in  a  shop  the  G.'s  came  in.  He 
is  nice.  She  has  no  manners  and  is  uglier  than  ever.  How 
he  can  do  his  share  as  regards  the  children  one  cannot  imagine 
as  one  looks  at  her.  Lauder  tells  me  that  all  the  cart  horses 
in  Germany  are  given  by  the  Government  to  the  farmers,  on 
condition  that  they  are  to  be  available  for  transport  in  war-time. 
What  a  good  plan  !  They  are  remarkably  good-looking  horses. 
One  never  sees  an  old  or  lame  one ;  they  are  not  of  the  cart- 
horse breed,  but  look  much  more  refined,  only  very  big  and 
strong. 

5  KISSELEFF  Strasse, 
23/6/95. 

Lady  Such  delightful  news  the  faithful  Grove  brought  me  last 

oseey.  j^jgj^^^   '^^  ^  Frankfort  paper.      The  announcement  by  C.-B. 

in  the  House  of  the  Duke's  resignation  on  1st  October — just 

fitting  in,  too,  with  our  plans  !     I  do  hope  it  will  all  come  out 

as  we  wish.     I  see  the  incomer  is  not  to  be  called  Chief  of  the 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  345 

Staff.  So  much  the  better  !  Shall  we  have  a  sentry  at  our 
door  ?  Will  the  pay  only  be  £4000  ?  I  see  they  say  the  term 
is  to  be  the  usual  term  of  Staff  appointments,  but  can  be  ex- 
tended I  Frances  had  gone  to  the  Opera  at  Frankfort  and  I  had 
the  delight  of  telling  her  when  she  came  back  at  midnight.  I 
had  a  most  pleasant  sleepless  few  hours  of  excitement.  When 
do  you  suppose  we  shall  know  more  ?  I  wonder  if  C.-B.  will 
resign.  The  Government  must  be  very  busy  thinking  of  them- 
selves and  their  position,  but  luckily  the  Army  can't  be  left 
without  a  head.  According  to  the  Daily  Telegraph,  the  Duke's 
feats  of  valour  won  all  the  battles  in  the  Crimea.  How  you 
have  misled  your  trusting  family  on  the  subject.  All  this  makes 
it  now  worth  describing  a  charming  drive  Mitchell  and  I  took 
yesterday  through  several  delightful  old  German  towns.  We 
passed  the  Empress  Frederick's  place,  "Friederichsruhe."  It 
is  a  large  strong  house  in  rather  small  surroundings,  but  it  has 
one  charming  thing.  The  fence  for  2  miles,  I  should  think,  round 
it  is  a  thick  hedge  of  roses  of  all  sorts,  honeysuckle,  and  all  sorts 
of  flowering  things.  It  was  ideal.  It  is  so  simple  that  any 
tradesmen  could  have  it ;  and  no  tradesmen  would  have  it. 


5    KiSSELEFF  StRASSE, 

26/6/95. 

We  are  very  excited  about  the  situation  !  We  see  news  from  Lady 
England  very  promptly  in  the  Frankfort  afternoon  paper,  and  ^^^^^^^y- 
we  take  in  now,  Times  as  well  as  M.  P.  and  Daily  Tel.  I  wish 
very  much  that  I  could  see  you,  before  our  furniture  move  begins, 
to  talk  over  our  affairs.  I  feel  rather  puzzled  about  our  winter 
plans  till  I  hear  what  you  think.  You  know  what  a  weaver  I  am. 
Colonel  Grove  leaves  to-day  for  London.  He  begged  me  to  tell 
you  that  he  would  like  to  see  you  on  your  way  through  town. 
He  has  been  so  nice  to  us,  and  we  grieve  for  the  loss  of  our 
political  and  military  adviser  in  this  crisis. 

We  had  thought  of  a  little  Rhine  trip  with  Lady  MacDougall 
from  1st  July,  but  we  are  disinclined  now  to  leave  this  good 
centre  of  news  while  all  this  excitement  is  going  on.  Lord 
Selbome  told  me  he  had  a  telegram  yesterday  from  Lord  Salis- 
bury saying  he  is  to  be  Prime  Minister,  so  I  suppose  the  difficulty 
of  the  Radicals  delaying  the  dissolution  (which  Lord  Sahsbury 
said  must  be  settled  before  he  finally  accepted)  has  been  got  over. 


Wolseley. 


346  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Finale. — ^A  little  sermon  to  you  on  ingratitude  to  Providence. 
You  say  you  have  had  no  "  luck  *'  for  years.  I  think  you,  and 
we  all,  have  had  blessings  innumerable,  and  you  must  think  of 
them  and  not  of  your  wishes.     Amen. 


i  5   KiSSELEFF  StRASSE, 

29/6/95- 
T^cw..,  Yesterday  I  started  at  9  for  Heidelberg  ;  the  Castle  is  a 
magnificent  ruin  and  still  contains  interesting  pictures  and 
rehcs.  I  saw  a  mezzotinto  done  by  Prince  Rupert  and  many 
pictures  of  him,  of  Elizabeth  of  Bohemia,  of  Sophia  and  of 
Charlotte  Elizabeth  of  Orleans. 

Sunday. — I  am  not  sure  whether  this  will  ever  reach  you, 
so  I  shall  not  write  much,  only  a  little  hon  jour.  So  Lord 
Lansdowne  is  to  be  War  Minister !  How  do  you  Hke  that  ? 
And  the  Cadogans  go  to  Ireland,  but  being  in  the  Cabinet  it 
is  a  very  different  thing.     What  do  you  augur  for  us  ? 

5   KiSSELEFF  StRASSE, 

15/7/95. 
r^A,.  Dearest, — I  have  just  sent  you  off  the  packet  of  letters 
you  left  in  my  charge,  and  which  I  forgot  to  give  you  back. 
It  is  as  well  that  you  should  have  them  back.  I  now 
enclose  you  some  letters  that  came  for  you  this  morning.  I 
took  the  liberty  of  opening  them  as  I  knew  all  the  writings.  I 
had  a  charming  letter  from  Major  Griffiths  full  of  sympathy  and 
desire  to  help  you.  You  will  see  him  to-day.  I  also  had  a  letter 
from  Sir  J.  M'Neill,  which  I  did  not  particularly  Hke.  He  made 
no  offers  of  service,  and  declares  Sir  R.  B.  is  quite  to  be  trusted  and 
is  most  loyal  to  you.  He  says  that  as  the  country  is  divided 
(which  I  don't  beUeve  !)  as  to  you  or  Roberts,  the  solution  is 
BuUer  !  There  was  nothing  private  in  his  letter,  so  I  sent  it  to 
.  Major  Griffiths,  as  I  thought  it  might  be  useful  that  he  should 
see  this  very  ridiculous  solution,  and  be  able  to  give  it  a  crack 
on  the  head.  What  a  downfall  Sir  W.  Harcourt  has  had. 
Besides  losing  his  seat  the  German  papers  say  he  and  Lady  H. 
were  pelted  with  mud  at  Derby.  I  long  to  hear  from  you  and  to 
have  an  account  of  to-day.  Tell  me  if  you  saw  Sir  J.  M'N.  and 
what  he  said  to  you. 


Wolseley. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  347 

ScHLoss  Hotel,  Heidelberg, 

Friday,  26/7/95. 

I  must  tell  you  about  the  Empress  Frederick  yesterday.  Lady 
We  left  here  at  10  o'clock,  got  to  Frankfort  at  12,  and  ^''^'^^' 
changed  into  the  Cronberg  train  and  arrived  there  at  i  o'clock. 
Her  carriages  met  some  Royalties  who  were  in  our  train  and 
us.  We  had  a  rather  nimbly  little  victoria,  but  the  servants 
had  aiguillettes  and  on  their  buttons  a  star — ^like  the  Garter 
— ^which  she  had  also  on  her  tablecloths.  What  would  it 
be  ?  Perhaps  it  is  the  Garter  ?  When  we  arrived  at 
Friederichshof,  the  Hof  Marshal  (Chamberlain)  met  us  at 
the  door,  and  ushered  us  into  the  inner  sitting-room  hall 
where  the  Empress  and  guests  were.  She  was  most  kind  and 
amiable,  and  we  kissed  her  hand.  Then  she  introduced  her 
daughter,  who  is  married  to  a  Hesse — ^he  was  not  there — ^and 
also  a  Gleichen  girl,  who  is  married  to  some  Prince,  for  the  Em- 
press called  her  '*  Princess."  Then  there  was  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Hesse,  and  a  son  of  Prince  Christian's,  and  Count  Sachendorf 
and  three  "  in  waitings  "  ;  also  Mr.  Hugo  Wemyss,  but  no  other 
small  fry  except  ourselves.  We  went  at  once  into  luncheon. 
The  Empress  sat  between  the  Grand  Duke  and  the  Christian 
youth.  The  Chamberlain  sat  opposite  her,  with  F.  and  me 
on  each  side  of  him.  We  were  thirteen  at  luncheon  with  the 
Hesse  "  in  waiting."  The  luncheon  was  very  good.  Six 
servants,  not  smart,  in  trousers,  and  not  good  waiting.  We 
had  kromeskies,  cutlets,  partridge,  artichokes,  one  sweet,  and 
dessert.  The  table  had  some  silver  and  flowers  and  two  silver 
soup  tureens  with  their  covers  on  as  ornaments  !  German 
spoken  more  than  English !  The  Empress  spoke  very  sharply 
to  the  butler  about  a  knife  handle  being  chipped.  "  It  wasn't 
done  when  we  last  used  them,"  in  German.  The  house  is  very 
nice  inside — light,  large,  and  cheerful,  a  great  deal  of  dehcately 
carved  wood  in  it  and  charming  Louis  xv.  plaster  ceihngs. 
Quantities  of  good  furniture,  but  a  little  too  much  mixed  up : 
old  German,  French,  Italian,  and  English.  Still  it  is  very 
nice,  not  at  all  a  palace,  more  di  fairly  large  Enghsh  country  house. 
She  sat  and  walked  about  with  me  and  with  Frances  and  was 
quite  simple  and  not  a  bit  condescending.  What  are  her  poli- 
tics ?  for  when  I  said  the  elections  were  going  well,  she  said, 
"  I  hope  it  is  good  for  the  country  ?  ?  "    She  said,  "  Campbell- 


348  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Bannerman  was  very  good  for  the  Army/*  This  doesn't  look 
as  if  she  resents  the  Duke's  rejection.  When  I  said  we  were 
anxious  to  know  what  your  fate  would  be,  she  only  said,  "  I 
know  nothing,"  but  offered  no  sympathy.  Does  it  mean  that 
she  is  ignorant  about  our  hopes,  or  that  she  wants  the  Duke  of 
Connaught  or  what  ?  The  grandchildren  came  down  and  she 
played  with  them,  and  about  3  she  bid  us  good-bye,  thanked  me 
for  coming  so  far,  sent  you  "  many  kind  messages,*'  and  went 
upstairs.  We  left  at  3.15,  had  an  hour  in  Frankfort,  and  got 
back  here  at  7.40.  She  was  very  displeased  with  the  servants  for 
leaving  some  rugs  to  fade  in  the  sun.  There  were  very  good 
pictures,  and  cabinets  of  treasures  and  pastels  and  miniatures 
that  I  would  have  longed  to  examine  at  leisure.  She  told  me  the 
Queen  cannot  move  her  legs  now,  and  can  only  read  through  a 
magnifying  glass,  and  cannot  recognise  any  one  across  the  table. 
We  shall  stay  on  here  for  the  present.  I  won't  mention  the 
subject  except  to  say  I  still  hope. 

ScHLOss  Hotel,  Heidelberg, 
28/7/95- 

Lady  Your  "  Hindostan  "  letter  just  arrived.    What  jumps  we 

Woiseiey.  ^^  make  from  one  possibiHty  to  another !  /  am  quite  prepared 
for  anything  that  is  best  for  you.  What  a  remarkable  leading 
article  about  the  Duke  of  C.  in  Friday's  Times !  I  do  not  think 
I  ever  read  a  stronger  one.  Do  you  suppose  it  was  inspired  by 
the  Government  ? 

Yesterday  the  students  had  a  great  breakfast  in  the  open 
air  in  the  Castle.  They  wore  strange  clothes  and  drank  un- 
limited tankards  of  beer.  We  went  to  look  at  them.  Some 
had  fancy  uniforms  with  swords,  some  evening  clothes.  They 
then  processed  through  the  town  with  a  band,  in  forty-four 
landaus  !  one  with  six  horses,  several  with  four,  and  the  rest 
with  two.  Four  students  in  each,  a  few  riding.  They  ended 
at  an  hotel  and  were  to  eat  there  from  three  till  night.  They 
are  such  fat,  soft -looking  young  men,  and  to  our  eyes  look  very 
vulgar.  In  the  afternoon  we  went  by  rail  to  Swetchingen,  where 
the  Grand  Duke  of  Baden  has  an  eighteenth-century  country 
palace  with  immense  Versailles  gardens.  We  wasted  our  time 
going  over  the  palace,  but  intend  to  go  again  to  see  the  gardens. 

I  have  begun  to  read  Plutarch's  Lives  in  French,  Dacier's 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  349 

translations.  What  a  lot  those  old  fellows  knew  I  It  seems  to 
me,  except  machinery,  steam,  and  electricity,  we  have  made  no 
progress. 

ScHLoss  Hotel,  Heidelberg, 

31/7/95. 

We  wait  breathlessly  to  hear  more.  Are  we  to  cry  "  a  Lady 
Berlin,*'  or  shall  we  be  in  India,  or  shall  we  subside  into  a  house  ^°^^^^- 
in  Ebury  Street  with  a  parlour-maid  ?  Also  tell  me,  when  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  was  C.-in-C,  was  he  a  cross-bencher  or 
did  he  choose  a  side  ?  Don't  forget  to  answer  this,  as  I  don't 
understand  your  Carlton  problem.  Have  you  done  it  as  a 
protest  against  the  Rads.  intended  treatment  of  you,  or  as  a 
protest  against  their  general  policy  ?  I  want  to  be  able  to 
answer  as  you  wish  if  I  am  questioned  about  it.  Our  small 
doings  seem  so  terribly  insignificant,  I  hesitate  to  tell  you  about 
them.  Pannebakker  lunched  with  us  on  Monday  and  took  us 
to  see  the  students'  clubs  or,  rather,  beer-drinking  places.  They 
have  all  sorts  of  funny  little  rules  and  regulations,  and  are  in  a 
great  measure  allowed  to  manage  themselves  and  make  their 
own  laws.  A  young  student  showed  us  over  his  club  and  was 
most  civil.  He  kissed  our  hands  when  we  left.  He  had  half 
an  ear  cut  off  and  his  nose  stuck  together  with  cotton-wool. 
He  told  us  we  could  go  and  see  the  duelling,  and  we  intend 
to  go.  They  fight  at  a  little  inn  in  the  country  near  here. 
I  do  not  fancy  it  is  very  tragic.  We  also  saw  the  prison  they 
are  shut  up  in  if  they  offend. 

ScHLOSS  Hotel,  Heidelberg, 

7/8/95. 

Your  "  good  "  telegram  has  just  arrived,  and  has  warmed  Lady 
our  hearts.  We  understand  it  to  mean  that  you  have  ^°^^^*y* 
heard  something  encouraging  but  not  decisive,  and  we  think 
that  Lord  Mt.  S,  must  have  sent  you  a  satisfactory  account 
of  his  interviews  with  Lord  L.  yesterday.  If  so.  Lord  Mt.  S. 
must,  I  think,  have  telegraphed  it  to  you,  as  I  don't  think  there 
was  time  for  his  letter  to  reach  Kilkenny.  We  wait  your  next 
letter  with  impatience  !  I  wonder  when  I  have  not  been  waiting 
with  impatience  for  a  letter  in  the  last  twenty-five  years  !  I  do 
hope  it  will  all  soon  be  satisfactorily  settled  ! 


350  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Notice. — Do  not  cross  your  letters  on  foreign  paper — ^we 
cannot  make  them  out  ! 

ScHLOSS  Hotel,  9/8/95. 

Lady  Of  course,  as  usual,  we  are  dying  for  more  news.     Especially 

oiseUy.  ^Q  know  how  MUch,  and  whether  you  will  be  called  "  command- 
ing "  or  "  commander  "  or  what.  Perhaps  Sunday  may  bring 
us  a  letter.  As  soon  as  I  know  more  I  shall  make  my  plans  for 
departure.  How  delightful  to  be  able  to  make  plans  again  ! 
Frances  says  she  sees  them  spinning  in  my  brain  already.  I  must 
go  over  soon  to  look  for  a  house,  and  then  you  must  come  and 
do  lion  when  I  have  done  jackal.  As  soon  as  it  is  announced 
I  shall  put  in  a  par  in  M.  Post  to  say  I  am  expected  at  M'Kellar's, 
as  I  have  no  doubt  I  shall  have  many  congrats.  and  I  don't 
want  them  to  wander  about  abroad.  Is  it  not  all  delightful  ? 
I  hope  you  are  happy,  because  you  were  so  brave  when  it  looked 
bad  for  us.  I  am  more  glad  than  I  can  say,  and  you  know 
it  is  not  all  for  myself. 

17  Dover  Street,  19/8/95. 

Lady  Kind  Grove  has  just  been  here.     He  has  found  out  that 

°  ^^^'  nothing  is  settled  about  the  C.-in-C.'s  pay,  but  he  thinks  it  will 
be  settled  in  about  a  week,  and  thinks  they  intend  to  deal 
liberally.  I  do  not  know  whom  he  saw  about  it.  He  says  the 
Lansdowne  Asst.  Sec,  Mr.  Welby  (he  and  his  wife  were  in  the 
same  house  with  us  at  Homburg),  has  behaved  very  nicely 
about  you,  and  has  never  failed  to  put  in  a  word  edgeways  for 
you  whenever  he  could. 

I  can  say  no  more ;  dear  Colonel  Maurice  tells  me  Lord  L. 
has  just  announced  it  in  Lords.  Dearest  child,  no  one  can  be 
happier  than  I  am  at  your  happiness  or  wish  you  more  blessings 
in  this  new  stage  of  Hfe. 


Old  Place,  Lindfield,  Haywards  Heath, 
Monday,  9/9/95. 

Lady  Here  we  are  in  the  Kempe  earthly  paradise  !     I  am  writing 

Woiseiey.  ^^  ^^  bedroom.     Such  a  bedroom  !     I  wish  you  could  see  it, 

absolutely  perfect,  and  the  whole  house  the  same.     You  must 

come  down  here  some  day.     It  would  triple  my  pleasure  if 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  351 

we  saw  it  together.  He  has  a  butler  and  footman  and  odd- 
man,  so  you  would  not  be  subject  to  a  parlour-maid.  Blanchett 
says  the  servants'  quarters  are  as  good  as  ours,  and  they 
have  everything  that  can  give  comfort  and  refinement.  The 
garden  is  looking  beautiful  too.  This  morning  we  sat  out 
there,  and  then  he  took  us  to  see  a  nice  old  house  in  his 
village,  with  a  large  garden,  to  be  sold,  freehold,  for  a  thousand 
pounds.  I  felt  I  could  be  quite  happy  there.  Its  door  is  in 
the  Uttle  village  street,  but  not  much  harm  in  that,  and  the  back 
quite  country.  Then  we  drove  with  him  to  Groombridge, 
about  18  miles,  through  Ashdown  Forest,  such  a  pretty  country 
with  commons.  It  is  a  real  old,  untouched  Charles  11.  house, 
placed  where  an  older  house,  a  Castle,  had  existed,  and  still 
surrounded  by  the  moat.  Old  gardens  with  grass  terraces, 
a  fountain,  peacocks,  swans,  and  storks,  flights  of  white 
pigeons  against  yew  hedges.  Two  spinsters  and  a  widow — Miss 
Saints  and  Mrs.  Streatfield — Uve  there,  and  have  owned  it  for 
the  last  hundred  years.  Before  that  it  belonged  to  Packers, 
before  that  to  Wallers.  They  have  fire-backs  and  panelling 
of  1579  o^t  ^^  th^  o/i^r  house.  The  Duke  of  Orleans,  taken  at 
the  battle  of  Agincourt,  was  imprisoned  for  seventeen  years  in 
the  Castle  which  this  house  replaces.  They  were  nice  and  homely 
and  simple,  and  spoke  of  the  honour  it  had  been  to  meet  you  at 
Eridge  when  we  were  there  fifteen  years  ago,  and  they  hope 
you  will  go  and  see  Groombridge.  Altogether  my  little  outing 
has  refreshed  me  much,  and  I  shall  return  bravely  to  the  house- 
hunt to-morrow  with  renewed  energy. 


1896 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

Henley  Park,  Guildford, 
1st  September  1896. 

w^r^  We  have  had  rather  a  long  and  tiring  day.     It  poured  heavily 

^^'  all  last  night  and  early  this  morning,  and  we  did  not  mount 
our  war-horses  until  about  10  a.m.  It  soon  began  to  rain 
again  in  torrents,  and  the  poor  troops  seemed  as  if  they  had 
been  walking  about  in  a  fish-pond  to  look  for  food,  and  had 
found  none.  The  Highland  officers  near  me  had  bonnets  that 
reminded  one  of  the  miserable  appearance  a  pheasant  presents 
that  has  fallen  in  a  pond  and  remained  there  some  time  before  it 
is  retrieved. 

Our  usual  Conference  came  off  in  a  downpour  that  took 
the  starch  out  of  every  one,  and  the  venom  out  of  my  criticism. 
We  then  started  for  this  place,  a  ride  of  about  10  miles,  and 
here  we  arrived  about  5  p.m.,  hungry  as  hunters,  for  none  of  us 
had  eaten  anything  since  half -past  eight  in  the  morning;  and 
even  my  mare,  the  "Duchess,"  that  had  played  the  fool  to  any 
extent  in  the  morning,  and  had  been  positively  violent  in  her 
frivoUty,  was  tamed  down  into  the  demureness  of  old  maiden- 
hood.    (She  must  be  a  Duchess  in  her  own  right  !) 

We  had  a  right  good  tea  with  many  viands.  Then  in  came 
the  Middletons,  my  Lord,  Lady,  and  the  unmarried  daughter. 
They  are  to  dine,  so  they  came  to  tea,  and  are  to  dress  here. 
The  Vemers,  who  do  not  know  the  Pirbrights,  came  to  see  me 
whilst  we  were  having  our  tea.  They  have  been  received  into 
the  bosom  of  this  family  already,  and  invited,  I  think,  to  dinner 
during  my  stay  here.     Mrs.  Verner  looking  very  pretty.    There 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  353 

is  to  be  a  large  dinner-party  here  every  evening  during  my  stay. 
The  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Something  Phillips,  who  is  the  coming 
Lord  Mayor,  and  his  son  are  here — ^the  son's  name  is  Benjamin. 
They  have  been  partridge  shooting  to-day. 


Henley  Park,  Guildford, 
2nd  September  1896. 

I  have  just  had  lunch — a  banquet  prepared  by  a  cook  who  Lord 
ought  to  have  the  Garter.  It  poured  all  last  night  and  it  rained  °  ^^* 
all  day,  so  the  manoeuvres  intended  for  to-day  were  postponed. 
I  saw  one  Division  of  the  Army  pass  by  here,  and  rode  out  in  a 
waterproof  coat  to  them.  They  were  as  wet  as  drowned  rats, 
but  all  were  cheery  and  marched  as  if  on  parade,  although  they 
had  already  done  13  miles  and  had  nearly  4  more  to  go  before 
they  encamped  in  the  rain  on  wet  ground. 

Our  dinner  last  night  consisted  of  Prince  Napoleon  and  his 
equerry,  (jeneral,  Mrs.,  and  Miss  Swaine,  the  three  Cokes,  pdre, 
mire,  and  fille.  The  last  named  is  five  feet  eleven  and  a  half 
inches,  and  the  man  she  is  about  to  marry  is  six  feet  three, 
so  it  is  like  one  of  the  marriages  Frederick  loved  to  arrange. 
Lady  Pirbright  wants  me  to  go  and  see  the  Empress  with  her, 
but  I  would  prefer  going  to  see  that  august  lady  by  myself. 

Henley  Park,  Guildford, 
4/9/96. 

Rosebery  has  asked  us  all  three  to  stay  with  him  at  Dalmeny      Lord 
when  I  go  to  Edinburgh  to  deliver  an  address  the  first  week  *^^^^^' 
of  December.     I  have  accepted  for  myself,  refused  for  you,  and 
left  the  question  of  Frances  open. 

We  have  twenty  here  to  dinner  every  evening,  and  Lady 
Pirbright  told  me  they  were  now  feeding  daily  in  the  house  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  mouths  besides  the  nine  horses  of  my 
party  in  the  stable.  I  walked  through  Guildford  with  her 
yesterday  and  every  one  ran  out  to  see  her.  She  is  so  good  and 
kind  to  us  all  here,  that  I  hate  to  laugh  at  her  even  to  you. 
You  said  something  about  an  elephant  being  found  grazing 
in  Hyde  Park  as  very  unlikely  and  very  incongruous.  But  it 
would  be  nothing  to  my  dear  Lady  P.  in  the  streets  of  Guildford. 
No  bird  of  paradise,  no  cockatoo  or  "  parrot  with  a  tail  like  a 
23 


354  THE  LETTERS  OF 

carrot,"  ever  equalled  her  in  brilliancy^and ^variety  of  colouring. 
I  will  describe  it  when  we  meet. 

We  had  a  very  pretty  woman  to  dinner  last  night,  a  Mrs. 
Winans,  wife  of  the  great  pistol  shot.  His  father  is  one  of  the 
richest  men  in  the  world.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  Brighton 
doctor  ;  and  had  she  not  met  this  millionaire  she  would  probably 
have  married  the  local  chemist.  Only  sixteen  when  she  married, 
and  had  six  children  "  right  away." 


Broome  Park,  nr.  Canterbury, 

[afterwards  bought  by  Lord  Kitchener] 

15/9/96. 

wiheu  ^^^  ^^^  imagine  what  an  Irish  establishment  this  is  !  but 

the  welcome  is  Irish  also — sincere,  hearty,  and  warm.  This  is 
the  home  of  the  Oxendens,  and  their  portraits  hang  on  every 
wall.  They  came  in  for  this  place  and  property  by  marrying 
the  heiress  of  the  family  who  had  long  owned  the  place.  There 
is  a  picture  of  the  first  Oxenden  Baronet,  1668,  and  a  very  nice 
one  of  Arabella  Churchill.  The  house  is  of  red  brick,  much  be- 
gabled  and  said  to  have  been  built  by  Inigo  Jones.  It  is  in  very 
bad  repair,  as  is  also  the  old  furniture,  most  of  which  is  entirely 
after  your  heart.  The  park  is  fine  and  beautifully  wooded,  and 
the  surrounding  country  rich  in  undulating  scenery,  in  no  way 
grand  or  imposing,  but  delightfully  green  and  homelike.  The 
house  is  just  7  miles  from  Canterbury,  along  the  old  Watling 
Street  of  the  Romans. 


Charterhall,  Duns,  N.B., 

Before  cock-crow,  9/12/96. 

Lord  Trotter  met  us  at  the  station  last  night.     Phoebe  Allan  and 

her  husband.  Lord  and  Lady  Gifford,  young  Maurice  Gifford, 
three  sons  and  one  daughter  of  the  family,  constitute  our  party. 
Gifford  took  Frances  in  to  dinner,  and  on  the  other  side  of  her  was 
the  eldest  son  in  the  Life  Guards.  She  goes  out  hunting  to-day, 
and  so  do  all  the  party  except  me.  I  go  with  Mrs.  Trotter  to 
see  the  field  of  Flodden,  of  which  battle  I  know  nothing. 

We  had  a  long  and  troublesome  journey  here,  and  I  went 
through  a  trying  time,  having  to  make  three  speeches.     Perth 


Wolscley. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  355 

was  en  fete,  the  shops  shut  up  and  the  streets  decorated,  and 
crowds  everywhere.  The  day  began  by  being  very  fine,  but 
when  I  had  to  speak  to  a  multitude  on  the  "  Inch  "  in  the  open 
air  (Inch  means  island)  a  steady  drizzle  set  in.  Perhaps  a 
suitable  accompaniment  to  the  ripple  of  rot  that  came  from  me. 
The  Town  Hall  holds  3000  people,  and  it  was  crammed. 
There  I  received  the  freedom  of  the  city  and  was  able  to  make 
myself  easily  heard.  But  I  was  well  tired  when  I  finished  by  the 
inspection  of  a  Boys'  Brigade  on  the  platform  of  the  Perth 
railway  station. 

Wilton  Park,  Blackburn, 
10/12/96. 

Yesterday  Mrs.  Trotter  drove  me  over  to  a  sister-in-law's  Lord 
place.  Lady  Marjoribanks — a  widow — who  has  a  nice  place  full  ^^^'^^^ 
of  nice  things.  She  fed  us  well  and  drove  us  on  to  see  where 
the  battle  of  Flodden  Field  was  fought,  and  then  to  Castle  Ford 
near  by.  King  James  iv.  of  Scotland  slept  in  Ford  Castle  the 
night  before  the  fight,  and  his  bed  is  still  there — date  of  battle, 
September  1513.  There  is  a  winding  stone  staircase  down  from 
his  bedroom  to  the  room  occupied  by  the  Lady  Heron  of  the 
day,  whose  husband  owned  Ford  then,  but  was  in  prison.  The 
King  intrigued  with  her,  and  it  is  supposed  that  her  heaux  yeux 
so  influenced  his  conduct  that  he  lost  the  battle  and  has  never 
been  heard  of  since,  nor  his  body  ever  been  found.  Ford  was 
done  up  by  Louisa,  of  Waterford.  You  must  remember  her, 
she  drew  well — and  "  painted  "  with  great  care  and  broad 
artistic  colouring. 

P.S. — Please  tell  your  friend  that  I  sounded  Kitchener  when 
at  home,  but  he  positively  declines  to  take  any  married  officers, 
and  I  think  he  is  right. 


1896 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

Royal  Hotel,  Lowestoft, 
10/4/96. 

Lady  Before  getting  your  "  gram  "  this  evening,  I  had  written 

Woiseiey.  ^o  Lord  Moiint  Stephen.  I  wonder  if  he  is  very  heart-broken  ? 
I  shall  be  anxious  to  hear  all  details.  It  is  nearly  twenty- 
nine  years  when  she  was  so  kind  to  me  when  you  and  I  arrived 
in  Canada,  a  bride  and  bridegroom,  and,  dear  little  thing,  what 
a  good  husband  you  are  !  and  nicer  every  day. 

To-day  I  had  another  tricycle  ride,  and  did  better.  The 
machine  was,  however,  a  horridly  bad  one,  and  we  went 
to  another  shop,  hoping  to  find  a  good  one.  They  had  no 
tricycles,  but  a  persuasive  woman  vowed  she  could  teach  me 
on  a  hike  !  and  I  am  to  have  an  hour's  lesson  to-morrow. 
She  says  she  has  taught  many  ladies,  one  over  sixteen  stone  ! 
and  quite  old  ones.  I  tremble  as  I  think  of  my  lesson,  but  I 
will  have  one  try  at  least.  Pray  keep  this  a  dark  secret.  Don't 
blab  it  out  to  Ra3mer  or  Mitchell. 

We  are  leading  a  very  peaceful  life.  Dinner  at  i,  high  tea 
at  6.30. 

I  am  reading  like  mad ;  am  now  at  Prescott's  Philip  II,  I 
like  it  all  except  the  battles,  for  I  never  can  see  where  the  "  left 
wing  rests." 


Hotel  Brasseur,  Luxemburg, 
30/8/96. 

Lady  I  quite  like  this  place,  and  wish  you  could  be  here.     The 

oseey.  foj^ifj^g^tions — demolished  and  otherwise — ^would  interest  you, 

356  ^ 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY     357 

The  situation  is  really  most  picturesque.  There  are  excellent 
modem  houses  and  some  few  nice  remains,  but  I  don't  see  the 
eighteenth-century  palaces  you  promised  me .  I  have  just  had  my 
little  dejeuner,  and  am  writing  in  my  prophetess  attic.  Mitchell 
and  I  are  off  at  i  o'clock  (2nd  class)  to  Treves  for  the  day,  and 
get  back  about  8.  This  is  the  Luxemburg  fete  day,  the  cul- 
mination of  the  August  Fair  which  has  been  held  here  every 
year  since  1400. 

Good-bye.     I  must  prepare  for  Caesar — B.C.   56 — and  the 
fourth  century  at  Treves,  and  try  to  be  as  intelligent  as  I  can. 


Luxemburg,  1/9/96. 

I  enclose  you  the  Treves  "  Porta  Nigra  "  photo.  Keep  it 
for  me.  It  never  was  finished,  and  the  latest  date  attributed  to 
it  is  the  fourth  century.  Napoleon  was  luckily  short  of  ammuni- 
tion when  he  was  at  Treves,  or  intended  to  blow  it  up.  He  took 
all  the  lead  off  the  roof  and  made  it  into  bullets. 

Do  you  know  that  between  Treves  and  Thionville,  about 
six  miles  N.  of  "  Sierak  "  (ten  miles  from  ThionviUe),  there  is 
a  Chateau  Nunsdorf,  popularly  known  as  "  Chateau  Marlbro'/' 
because  Marlborough  resided  there. 


Lady 
Wolsdey* 


Strassburg,  4/9/96. 

Already  the  days  are  closing  in  so,  that  we  can't  be  out  Lady 
after  6.30  or  7,  and  I  am  afraid  then  it  will  be  worse,  and  it  is  ^  '^  ^' 
chilly  the  moment  the  sun  goes  down.  I  feel  as  if  the  battle- 
fields will  scarcely  be  a  success,  and  that  you  won't  like  an  hotel 
bedroom  for  a  long  evening.  What  do  you  think  ?  Could  you 
not  meet  me  instead  at  Amsterdam,  or  any  dam  you  Hke,  and 
let  us  do  a  week's  pictures  together  ?  You  should  do  the 
battlefields  in  May — before  the  ballroom  benches  begin — when 
the  days  are  long  and  bright.  The  left  wing  may  escape  us  in 
the  dusk. 

I  wish  we  could  wander  together  through  the  old  streets 
here.  There  are  charming  comers,  as  you  know.  The  little 
German  soldiers  are  always  tripping  about,  and  doing  their 
high  bantam  step  when  they  see  an  officer,  and,  like  lobsters, 
they  seem  to  see  behind  them  and  everywhere. 


358  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Bella  Vista,  Baden-Baden, 

10/9/96. 

ww^f  "'■  ^^^^  ^^^^  little  place  so  much.    The  food  is  quite  good,  and 

it  is  so  fresh  and  quiet  and  in  the  country.  One  is  in  a  hundred 
charming  hill  and  wood  walks  at  once,  with  a  bench  everywhere 
and  not  paper-baggy  and  restaurant -y.  I  must  tell  you  of  a 
deHghtful  drive  I  took  to  a  "  deserted  Schloss  "  in  a  little  Ver- 
sailleish  garden,  built  by  a  Markgrafin  Sybilla  in  1735,  and  not 
inhabited  since  her  death.  It  is  furnished  and  exactly  as  she 
left  it.  Some  charming  old  French  furniture.  There  are  lits 
de  parade,  with  rails  round  them  just  like  Louis  xiv.  at  Ver- 
sailles, and  any  number  of  pictures  of  Markgrafs  and  Markgrafins. 
One  room  contains  seventy  miniatures  of  Sybilla  and  her  hus- 
band in  any  variety  of  costumes.  There  is  the  kitchen,  with  all 
its  old  copper  and  crockery  and  curious  delf  and  china.  She 
was  very  vain  in  her  youth,  and  very  devote  in  her  old  age, 
and  they  show  the  chapel  and  hermitage  where  she  finally 
lived  and  died.  She  had  two  life-sized  wooden  figures  of  saints, 
who  dined  every  day  with  her,  and  their  uneaten  portions  were 
given  to  the  poor.  Don't  come  abroad  a  patriotic  Briton,  but 
come  prepared  to  like  everything.  I  am  so  happy  here,  on  my 
little  balcony,  with  Gibbon,  that  I  can't  even  make  excursions. 
Pray  bring  ample  topographical  information  how  to  find 
the  battlefields,  for  Baedeker  never  even  mentions  such  an 
event.  He  merely  gives  RamiUies  and  Roermund  as  stations, 
and  not  even  an  hotel !  However,  no  doubt  you  are  a  truffle- 
dog  where  a  battlefield  is  concerned,  and  will  know  its  where- 
abouts at  once.  Don't  have  "  Viscount  Wolseley "  on  your 
portmanteau,  or  we  are  undone. 

4  Grosvenor  Gardens,  S.W., 
10/12/96. 

Wolseley,  -^Y  tea-party,  programme  enclosed,  was  most  brilliant. 
Scarcely  any  one  failed !  and  all  "brought  their  daughters  "  (whom 
I  had  not  asked).  I  had  an  excellent  staff  of  young  men,  and 
everything  went  well.  Seats  for  all,  craftily  scattered — not  in 
rows.  A  little  pile  of  extra  chairs  at  hand,  used  as  required.  My 
gresise-spots  I  considered  were  poor  E.,  with  an  uninvited  cousin. 
Arthur  was  very  useful,  so  was  young  Tryon,  and  Lord  Towney, 
and  Herbert.     Mrs.  D.  et  fits  came,  but  so  late  that  I  don't 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  359 

think  the  latter  wanted  to  help  with  the  teacups,  so  I  only  put 
them  into  seats.  On  Saturday  I  go  a-house-hunting  all  day  into 
Sussex  with  Kempe,  so  I  shall  not  write  that  day  probably. 
Let  me  know  when  you  return.  I  have  had  no  letter  from  F. 
for  two  days,  but  all  the  foxes  she  has  hunted  must  take  up  her 
time,  so  I  am  not  cross. 

Miladi  very  penitent.    She  thought  November  had  thirty-one 
days,  and  that  to-day  was  the  ist  December  ! 


I 897- I 898 


CHAPTER    XXVIII 

The  AxHENiEUM,  Pall  Mall,  S.W., 

23/3/97- 
Lord  Grove  carried  me  off  yesterday  to  see  Miss  D.  S.'s  pictures — 

Woisdey,  f^^j,  ^^  number — ^which  she  means  to  send  to  the  Academy  this 
year.  One  is  a  colossal  affair  of  Marie  Corelli,  who  is  represented 
in  a  sort  of  white  cotton  chemise,  clinging  to  her,  with  a  satin 
train  hanging  on  behind.  It  is  a  most  ambitious  picture,  but 
will  require  a  great  amount  of  wall  space. 

I  dined  at  the  Hotel  Cecil  with  the  Grillion  Club — ^first-rate 
dinner.  Kimberley,  Fortescue,  Lord  Balfour,  Robert  Herbert, 
BuUer,  Grant  Duff — ^twelve  in  all. 

V  Government  House,  Gibraltar, 

21/4/97. 

Lord  Yesterday  I  rode  to  the  top  of  the  rock  to  see  our  new 

Woiseiey.  batteries — such  lovely  views  of  sea  and  land  !  Our  great 
Channel  fleet — ^about  14  men-of-war  of  the  finest  sort — ^looked 
Hke  a  few  cockle-boats  scattered  about  on  the  bluest  of 
water.  My  father  began  his  soldiering  here  just  one  hundred 
years  ago,  not  many  years  after  the  last  and  greatest  of  the 
sieges.  In  his  day  the  baboons  from  the  Upper  Rock  used 
to  come  down  almost  daily  to  rob  the  gardens,  and  would 
penetrate  as  far  as  the  officers'  guardroom. 

At  Europa  Point  we  lunched  with  the  Cameron  Highlanders. 
Hanging  up  in  the  officers'  mess-room  as  trophy  was  the  bugle 
with  which  the  charge  was  sounded  at  Tel-el-Kebir  when  the 
Camerons  rushed  upon  Arabi's  entrenchments.  They  are  to 
have  a  new  battalion  added,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Grenadier  and 
Coldstream  Guards. 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  VVOLSELEY     361 

The  Athen^um  Club,  Pall  Mall,  S.W., 
18/^  May  1898. 

As  soon  as  I  received  your  pencil  note  this  morning  Lord 
I  packed  up  my  traps — oh,  how  badly  they  were  packed!  ^^^^' 
— and  moved  off  to  No.  39  St.  James's  Place.  There,  when 
coming  down  the  very  steep  stairs  from  my  second  floor,  the 
landlady,  who  was  following,  came  tumbling  upon  my  back — 
nearly  knocked  me  down,  and  fell  with  great  force  upon  her 
head.  I  thought  she  was  killed  :  tried  to  pick  her  up — she 
weighed  a  ton  at  least,  but  at  last  got  her  on  her  legs.  A  man, 
a  Volunteer  ofiicer  (he  told  me  he  was)  who  lives  on  first  floor, 
rushed  out  and  insisted  upon  her  going  into  his  sitting-room 
to  steady  herself.  I  saw  her  again  when  I  went  back  to  dress 
there,  and  she  seemed  all  right,  but  said  she  was  stiff  and 
bruised.  A  bad  beginning  of  my  bachelorhood  ?  To  Windsor 
with  the  Wantages,  from  Paddington ;  he  is  Lord-Lieutenant 
of  Berks,  and  as  it  was  a  Berkshire  Regiment  to  which  the 
Queen  was  to  give  new  Colours,  he  was,  of  course,  on  duty. 
The  Queen  gave  the  Colours  from  her  carriage,  and  made  a  little 
speech  which  she  had  evidently  learnt  and  partly  forgotten,  poor 
dear  Lady.  How  gracious  and  nice  she  is  !  M'Neill  in  great  " 
form,  and  having  charge  of  everything  apparently.  Tea  and 
wine  and  sandwiches  and  cakes  in  St.  George's  Hall  afterwards. 
Tell  Frances  that  I  Uke  the  chestnut,  he  was  by  far  the 
handsomest  charger  on  the  ground  yesterday.  Every  one 
admired  him.  Tony  1  found  the  black  difiicult  to  manage  when 
he  was  mixed  up  with  foot  soldiers.  He  did  not  mind  guns 
firing  nor  small  arms  nor  any  cavalry,  but  the  red-coated  foot 
soldiers  set  him  all  agog,  and  he  did  not  prove  himself  a  reliable 
charger. 

Palace  House,  Beaulieu,  Southampton, 

2/6/98. 

This  is  a  dehghtful  place  in  the  New  Forest.  An  old  and  Lord 
splendid  Abbey  in  its  day,  one  of  the  largest,  most  powerful,  ^^^^^^y- 
and  important  in  the  south  of  England.  Of  course,  the  house 
is  chiefly  new  built  from  the  ruins  of  what  must  have  been 
350  years  ago  an  entrancing  pile  covering  many  acres.  The 
hall  where  we  dined  last  night  was  all  groined  over,  and  was 
»  Sir  Anthony  Weldon,  A.D.C. 


362  THE  LETTERS  OF 

formerly  the  main  entrance  to  the  Abbey,  the  places  where 
the  doors  were,  and  through  which  you  drove  there,  being 
now  filled  up  with  fairly  well  done  Gothic  buildings.  The 
splendid  old  Church  is  now  an  utter  ruin,  and  the  existing 
Protestant  place  of  worship  is  the  old  refectory  of  the  monks. 
I  might  ramble  on  for  an  hour  to  tell  you  of  the  beauties  of 
this  place  and  of  the  forest,  through  which  I  rode  yesterday 
about  6  p.m.     But  I  must  dress. 

RouNDWAY  Park,  Devizes, 

2nd  June  1898. 

Lord  I  become  somewhat  confused  by  the  number  of  places  I 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  number  of  hosts  and  hostesses  I  become  ac- 
quainted with  on  these  expeditions.  The  internal  decorations 
of  the  Adams  period  in  this  house  would  please  you  much. 

Glynllivon,  Carnarvon, 

My  Birthday,  1898. 

Our  Thirty-First  Wedding  Day. 

Lord  Sixty-five  !  !    When  I  began  life  I  always  thought  I  should 

Wolseiey.  j^^^^  j^^^j^  killed  before  I  reached  fifty — ^yet  here  I  am  near  three- 
score and  ten  of  the  Scriptures,  and  shall  die  in  my  bed  like  an 
old  woman. 

Yesterday  I  inspected  Walter  Long's  fine  yeomanry  regiment. 

Edinburgh,  14th  June  1898. 

^Lord  I  am  sick  of  making  speeches.    To-day  I  had  the  freedom  of 

0  se  ey.  p^^f  j^gg  given  to  me  in  a  silver-gilt  box  with  enamelled  pictures, 
arms,  on  the  sides.  That  meant  a  short  speech ;  then  I  had  to 
open  a  bazaar,  and  that  means  a  long  speech.  To-morrow  I 
am  only  expected  to  make  one  short  speech,  which  is  a  relief 
to  my  unimaginative  mind.  I  have  a  review  of  the  garrison 
at  II  a.m.,  and  this  Edinburgh  freedom  at  4,  and  leave  for 
London  at  10.50. 

When  last  here  I  protested  against  the  proposal  to  build  a 
hospital  upon  the  best  part  of  the  plateau  on  which  the  Castle 
stands.  I  was  beaten,  because  the  Government  would  not  face 
the  expense — ^a  few  thousand  pounds — of  buying  another  site, 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  363 

so  there  now  stands  this  hideous  construction  of  essentially 
railway-engineer  style,  and  you  can  guess  what  that  is.  It  has 
ruined  one  of  the  very  finest  sites  for  a  building  in  good  taste 
to  be  found  anywhere. 

39  St.  James's  Place, 
20/6/98. 

Our  dinner-party  last  night  at  Baroness  Burdett-Coutts'  Lord 
included  the  American  orator  [Chauncey  M.  Depew],  Lord  and  ^°^^^^ 
Lady  Dartmouth,  Lady  Bective,  and  Lady  Crawford,  so  youthful 
to  look  at  and  delightful  to  talk  to,  whom  I  took  into  dinner  ; 
also  Beerbohm  Tree  the  actor,  and  young  Malcolm  of  Portal- 
loch.  I  walked  home  with  him.  He  seems  bright ^and  clever,  and 
interested  in  the  world's  affairs.  The  Yankee  is  an  incorrigible 
raconteur,  but  he  told  stories  well. 

On  Friday  night  I  was  one  of  Sir  H.  Thompson's  octave. 
A  very  good  dinner  and  excellent  wine,  but  too  much  explana- 
tion of  the  merits  of  his  viands.  He  has  some  good  pictures. 
Prince  Edward,  Bumand,  Lord  Shand,  Alma  Tadema,  one 
dreadful  bore,  and  an  unknown  man  made  up  the  party. 


39  St.  James's  Place, 
22/6/98. 

A    busy    day   before    me,   beginning    with   Woolwich    and      Lord 
endmg  with  Staff  College  dinner.    However,  it  is  all  in  the  way  ^0^^^^^- 
of  business. 

Last  night,  at  the  Portsmouths,  the  old  Duchess  of  Cleve- 
land, a  man  from  our  Embassy  in  Berlin,  and,  among  the  rest, 
a  Miss  Something — of  Scotch  name — ^who  lives  in  Florence.  A 
curious,  effective-looking  young  person,  quite  unlike  Enghsh 
girls  in  manner,  who  had  read  much  and  spoke  well.  We  walked 
in  the  Abbey  grounds  after  dinner,  and  the  company  dis- 
persed, mostly,  I  think,  to  go  to  some  party  at  Mr.  Astor's. 
To-day  is  fine,  with  the  sun  shining,  and  so  the  world  wags, 
no  one  caring  two  straws  for  the  people  drowned  yesterday  at 
the  launch  of  the  Albion  by  the  Duchess  of  York. 

Campbell-Bannerman,  but  not  his  wife,  was  at  the  dinner. 
He  seemed  a  little  shy  of  me,  but  rallied  when  I  spoke  to  him 
as  usual.     He  asked  kindly  after  you,  so  I  forgive  him  much. 


364  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Some  time  ago  I  heard  the  Lord  Mayor  meant  to  give 
an  Army  dinner,  but  thought  nothing  more  about  it.  This 
morning  I  received  a  card  from  him  inviting  me  to  dine 
on  13th  July,  to  meet  the  Secretary  of  State  for  War  and 
the  Commander-in-Chief  !  I  sent  the  card  to  my  private 
secretary  to  say  I  was  engaged.  That  I  had  done  so  was 
communicated  by  Gough  to  Lansdowne's  private  secretary. 
The  fat  was  in  the  fire — ^there  would  be  no  dinner  to  the  Army 
without  me.  I  got  an  urgent  letter  yesterday  from  Lans- 
downe,  and  on  hearing  the  story  I  at  once  said  I  would  put  off 
my  engagement  to  please  him,  and  would  dine,  etc. 


Henley  Park,  Guildford  (The  Pirbrights'), 

26/6/98. 

Lord  These  dear  good  people  have  received  me  with  open  arms. 

Wolselev  *=>  r        r  r 

Cookery  exquisite,  wine  not  to  be  surpassed,  and  oh  !  the 
pictures  and  the  china  and  works  of  art  with  which  the  house 
is  filled.  A  large  number  of  Watteaus,  and  amongst  them  the 
•  original  of  the  copy  we  bought  years  ago  in  Holland — I  mean 
"  Fortune-teller."  It  is  a  picture  of  Marie  Antoinette  being  told 
her  fortune  in  the  woods  near  Versailles.  Sta5dng  in  the  house 
is  General  Kelly-Kenny ;  Mrs.  Dick-Cunyngham,  a  tall,  good- 
looking  woman,  whose  husband  commands  the  Gordon  High- 
landers ;  and  Schomberg  MacDonnell. 

You  mention  taking  long  walks — ^never  go  into  the  woods 
alone,  and  tell  Frances  to  be  careful  also  on  that  point.  I 
go  up  to  town  by  an  early  train  to-morrow,  as  I  must  be  at 
Marlborough  House  for  a  meeting  about  Wellington  College. 
The  Queen  sleeps  the  6th  and  7th  proximo  at  Aldershot.  I 
have  to  be  there  the  7th  and  8th  to  attend  upon  her. 

July  1898. 

Lofd  I  have  just  come  back  from  the  Lord  Mayor's  dinner,  where 

Woiseiey.  x^^sdowne  made  a  very  long  oration  ;    I  also  spoke  too  long, 

although  not  at  half  the  length  he  did.     I  tickled  him  up  a  bit, 

and  shall  be  curious  to  know  how  he  liked  it.     What  dreary 

entertainments  these  are ! 

Such  a  dull  dinner  last  night.  I  took  in  the  daughter 
of  the  house,  and  found  her  without  wit,  humour,  or  learning. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  365 

Probably  her  husband — whom  I  don't  know — ^is  also  dull ;  he 
is  ugly,  without  any  doubt.  Now  what  can  be  the  fruit  of  such 
a  marriage  ?  And  yet  their  eldest  son,  if  he  lives  long  enough, 
must  be  a  man  of  great  possessions  !  If  I  were  a  very  rich  man 
with  sons  who  were  partis,  I  should  do  my  best  to  marry  them 
to  girls  with  brains  who  would  breed  clever  children.  At  the 
Iveaghs,  the  other  evening,  to  meet  the  Duke  and  Duchess 
of  York,  I  took  in  Lady  Ulrica  Duncombe.  I  always  feel  shy 
about  taking  in  a  young  girl,  because  she  must  vote  me  a  bore  : 
but  here  was  one  who  has  been  for  nearly  two  years  at  the 
Women's  College  at  Cambridge,  and  has  thought  out  some  of 
life's  problems  for  herself. 

London,  26th  July  1898. 

I  had  a  very  pleasant  afternoon  in  the  city  yesterday  with  Lord 
Henry  Bulwer — ^seeing  the  old  churches.  It  is  pleasant  to  find  ^°^^^^^' 
an  agreeable  companion  with  tastes  like  one's  own.  When  I 
reached  London  yesterday  Mrs.  Percy  Wyndham  pressed  me  to 
go  home  with  her  to  see  a  number  of  enamels  by  Fisher  she  has 
had  there  lately  "  on  view."  She  is  learning  to  enamel  from 
him,  and  has  already  produced  some  little  things  that  are  pretty. 
There  was  a  lovely  enamel  of  Lady  Elcho  in  profile,  a  fine  work 
of  art  and,  I  believe,  a  good  likeness.  They  wanted  me  to  stay 
for  luncheon,  but  I  had  promised  to  lunch  with  the  Muncasters, 
who  kindly  press  us  to  pay  them  a  visit  in  Cumberland.  They 
have  one  of  the  most  lovely  places  in  England,  full  of  historical 
interest.  By  the  bye,  I  agree  with  you  that  all  women  have 
grown  very  explicit  in  what  they  tell  you,  and  even  the  girls  are 
no  longer  quite  so  young  and  innocent. 

My  lev^  on  Friday  was  not  so  tiring  as  usual.  Making 
them  come  in  uniform  was  an  admirable  plan,  for  it  chokes  off 
many  a  chap  who  has  no  red  coat  with  him  in  town.  But 
still,  standing  a  long  time  and  hearing  numerous  grievances, 
some  of  them  terribly  distressing — is  tiring. 

Chilmark  Rectory,  2J  miles 

EAST  OF  Font  Hill  House, 

Zoth  August  1898. 

The  Morrisons  want  Frances  to  go  to  them  ;  I  hope  she  will,  and      Lord 
tell  her  if  she  does  to  bring  her  horse  with  her.     I  can  give  her  a   ^°^^' 


366  THE  LETTERS  OF 

first-rate  mount  for  the  march  past  in  case  that  animal  North- 
ampton might  develop  a  strong  antipathy  to  soldiers.  Frances 
can  ride  beside  me  at  the  review  and  see  everything  in  the  best 
way,  or  she  can  go  in  Mrs.  Morrison's  carriage.  It  will  be  the 
finest  military  display  ever  seen  in  England,  with  over  50,000 
men  on  parade.  I  expect  to  hear  on  Saturday  that  everything 
on  the  Nile  is  over  and  that  Kitchener  took  Omdurman  the 
day  before,  Friday.  I  should  not  like  to  fight  on  a  Friday,  as 
he  did  at  the  Atbara.     Sunday  is  the  day  for  a  real  battle. 


Chilmark  Rectory,  Salisbury, 
4th  September  1898. 

iv^r^  The  weather  here  is  piping  hot,  too  hot  for  the  men  carrying 

rifles  and  often  obliged  to  march  in  clouds  of  dust  in  the  deep 
and  narrow  lanes  common  here.  We  were  all  cheered  by  the 
news  that  Khartoum  was  in  our  keeping.  I  had  royal  salutes 
fired  in  honour  of  our  victory.  Now,  all  the  mothers  and  wives 
will  be  quiet  for  some  time.  I  dined  with  the  Griffiths  again 
last  night.  The  Conan  Doyles — Mr.,  Mrs.,  and  his  sister — ^were 
there.  I  was  never  in  any  country  where  the  down  air  was 
more  enjoyable  than  it  is  here,  and  the  country  is  lovely.  I 
have  been  to  church  close  by,  scarcely  a  soul  in  it,  except  the  few 
soldiers  I  have  as  a  guard  at  my  headquarters.  Evel}^  Wood 
has  gone  in  a  hot,  glaring  sun  to  lunch  with  the  Duke  of  West- 
minster. I  cried  off  at  the  last  moment  on  the  plea  of  having 
a  quiet  day  here,  and  dukes  have  no  special  attraction  for  me. 


Althorp,  Northampton, 
2yd  September  1898. 

Lord  Immediately  under  my  window  is  a  gorgeous  flower  garden, 

Woiseiev.  Qj^g  mass  of  colour,  with  walks  and  green  grass,  which  latter 
contrasts  well  with  the  stubble-coloured,  dried-up  looking  field 
beyond.  My  room  is  called  the  "  Patchwork  Room,"  and  in 
the  dressing-room  off  it  there  is  a  parson  whose  brother  went  to 
India  in  the  same  sailing  ship  with  me  in  1852 — ^the  world  is 
small.  There  are  numerous  pictures  on  the  walls,  for  which, 
with  one  "[exception,  I  would  not  give  a  sovereign  apiece  all 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  367 

round.  The  exception'  is  one  behind  me  as  I  sit  on  a  beautiful 
sofa  to  write  this.  It  is  a  long  Italian  picture  of  a  great  feast 
at  which  Mary  Magdalene  is  anointing  our  Saviour's  feet.  The 
house  itself  is  filled  with  glorious  pictures,  and  already  Lady 
Spencer  has  collected  a  good  library  again. 

I  travelled  down  with  Morley.  Lady  Downe  is  here,  and 
Bobby  Spencer  ^  and  his  wife  (who  plays  the  violin  d  merveille). 
We  are  off  after  breakfast  to  visit  the  field  of  Naseby  (fought 
1645),  which  is  only  ten  miles  off.  I  shall  be  expected,  I  know, 
to  express  a  military  opinion  on  the  subject  ;  it  is  already 
formed,  and  most  probably  is  entirely  wrong.  My  job  valet 
is  a  great  comfort. 


Althorp,  Northampton, 
24/9/98. 

We  started  from  here  yesterday  morning  in  a  waggonette.  '  Lord 
My  Lady,  John  Morley,  and  I  inside  ;  his  Lordship  and  the  ^^^^^^y- 
coachman  on  the  box.  A  pair  of  horses  were  sent  on  to  a  village 
about  six  miles  off  where  we  changed,  and  two  riding  horses 
were  sent  on  to  Naseby  in  case  we  wanted  to  scour  the  country. 
Morley  begged  he  might  not  be  asked  to  trust  his  body  upon  the 
back  of  any  animal.  By  the  bye,  the  origin  of  the  name  Naseby 
is  Navelsby,  from  navel,  as  it  is  supposed  to  be  the  centre 
of  England.  We  stopped  at  Naseby  village  to  see  an  old 
farmhouse  there,  in  which  a  carousing  party  of  Royalist  soldiers 
were  taken  by  Ireton  before  the  battle. 

I  preached  all  day  upon  the  art  of  war,  especially  as  practised 
at  Naseby,  to  my  two  friends,  and  we  took  in  the  battle  fairly 
well  in  the  absence  of  any  good  map  of  the  ground. 


Althorp,  Northampton, 
25/9/98- 
Yesterday  we  went  over  in  a  motor-car,  at  a  great  speed,     iLord 
to  Castle  Ashby — Lord  Northampton's  place.     Day  fine,  road   ^^'^*'^« 
good,  no  accident.     John  Morley  very  nervous — ^the  pace  was 
too  great  for  him.     It  was  the  first  time  a  motor-car  had  ever 
carried  visitors  there,  so  an  entry  was  made  accordingly  in  the 
*  Afterwards  fifth  Earl  Spencer. 


Wolseley. 


368  THE  LETTERS  OF 

visitors'  book,  and  all  the  motor's  cargo  wrote  their  names  under 
it.  Northampton  was  very  nice,  especially  to  her,  and  wheeled 
her  about  after  luncheon  through  the  great  ornamental  grounds 
which  surround  the  castle.     The  place  looked  lovely. 


London,  5/11/98. 

r^Ht..  Kitchener  had  a  great  reception  at  the  banquet  last  night, 

and  he  well  and  thoroughly  deserved  it.  His  speech  was  good 
and  manly.  I  saw  little  RaUi  in  the  crowd  dressed  in  a  red 
coat.  I  suppose  he  is  a  Deputy-Lieutenant  of  Surrey.  Tony 
Weldon  was  with  me,  and  thanks  to  the  police  "bone  "  I  had  no 
trouble,  and  got  away  one  of  the  very  first.  I  now  hear  I  am 
to  be  given  the  freedom  of  Brighton,  when  I  give  away  the 
prizes  to  a  volunteer  regiment  there.  The  first  time  it  has 
ever  been  conferred  upon  any  one. 


London,  10/11/98,  near  midnight. 

Lord  I  have  been  dining  with  the  Blues,  and  there  met  Reggy 

oseey.  gj.^^^  i  Y/^^^^  j^g  proposed  was  that  we  should  have  Princess 
Frederica's  quarters  at  Hampton  Court.  I  at  once  said  yes, 
but,  of  course,  the  Queen  may  say  no.  You  have  seen  the 
outside  of  them,  and  Brett  says  they  are  charming  inside.  I 
dare  say  it  may  come  to  nothing,  but  there  is  a  chance  in  our 
favour. 


London,  15/11/98. 

Lord  I  have  to  take  the  chair  at  a  dinner  to  Kitchener  this  evening, 

Wolseley.  g^  j  jn^st  try  to  think  of  what  I  should  say.  At  dinner  last 
night  we  had  the  Stuart- Wortleys  {nee  Millais),  Lady  Higgs,  a 
Lawrence  soldier  brother  to  represent  the  husband  and  host — 
away  shooting.  Then  went  to  hear  Lady  Ursula — ^nothing  in 
the  piece — ^but  the  actress,^  when  dressed  as  a  man,  made  the 
best  man  I  have  ever  seen  on  the  stage. 

1  Then  Secretary  to  Office  of  Works, 
*  Miss  Evelyn  Millard. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  369 

BowooD,  Calne,  Wilts, 
22/11/98. 

A  compartment  to  myself  and  slept  all  the  way.  Lady  Lord 
Powis,  Lady  Blandford.  Crewe  arrived  late;  Lansdowne,  ^^^^y- 
being  detained  by  a  Cabinet,  did  not  come  until  very  late, 
so  we  did  not  dine  until  a  quarter  to  nine.  This  house  is 
one  of  the  very  best  kept  houses  I  have  ever  been  in,  so 
scrupulously  clean,  and  all  the  walls  and  raihngs  and  woodwork 
as  if  they  had  been  fresh  painted  and  decorated.  Pictures  very 
good,  but  in  my  room,  engravings,  modem,  only.  Plenty  of 
powdered  footmen,  good  waiting,  and  a  good  dinner.  Lady 
Lansdowne  very  kind  and  such  a  good  hostess.  I  took  in  Lady 
M.  Scott,  who  was  compensated  for  having  me  on  her  left  by 
a  very  agreeable  young  man  being  on  her  right. 

W.  wanted  to  see  me  the  other  day  about  a  son  of  his,  and 
of  course  wanted  me  to  do  an  impossible  job  for  him.  It  is  not 
creditable  for  our  military  administratives  where  the  impression 
still  survives  that  you  have  only  to  be  a  friend  to  the  C.-in-C. 
to  have  jobs  done  for  you. 


London,  26/11/98. 

Dinner  last  night  with  Mrs.  H.  Ward.  Pretty  Lady  K.  Lord 
Thynne  and  the  young  Malets  were  there.  Matthew  Arnold's  ^°^^^^^' 
daughter,  whom  you  may  remember,  came  with  her  American 
husband  in  the  evening.  She  lives  in  New  York  and  has  four 
children.  Leonard  Courtney  and  his  wife  were  at  dinner.  I 
like  them  both  ;  he  absolutely  wrong  in  all  his  views,  I  think, 
but  still  an  interesting  feature  in  everyday  life  ;  she,  bright 
and  amusing. 

^  London,  30/11/98. 

At  Lady  A.  Russell's,  last  night,  I  sat  opposite  Lady  Lord 
Granville,  and  it  is  always  pleasant  to  look  at  her  ;  so  graceful  ^oiseiey. 
and  oh,  how  young-looking.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lawrence  were 
there — ^he  goes  out  with  G.  Curzon  as  his  private  secretary 
— and  there  was  a  daughter  of  Lyulph  Stanley ;  two  Russell 
sons — 3i  Grenadier  Guardsman  and  two  Russell  daughters — 
24 


370    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

the  rest  of  the  family  came  in  the  evening  with  many  other 
people.  I  have  had  a  note  from  Kempe  giving  me  hours  when 
express  trains  go  from  Victoria  Station.  But  if  I  thought  you 
would  be  there  earlier  I  would  go  by  an  earlier  train.  I  don't 
at  all  mind  waiting  at  Haywards  Heath  for  an  hour,  for  I 
would  take  a  walk  and  be  back  to  meet  you,  but  I  won't  play 
the  game  of  your  waiting  there  for  me. 


1898 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

Makienbad, 
Klinger's,  7/7 /()S. 

Last  night  I  went  to  the  play  with  Lady  FitzGerald,  but  Lady 
felt  faint  and  had  to  come  away.  It  was  La  Belle  HeUne,  given  ^^^^^^^y- 
in  German  by  fat  German  actors  and  actresses  !  It  was  horrid, 
so  vulgar  and  hideous.  We  had  "  Le  Mari  Sage  "  and  all  the  songs, 
but  I  should  not  have  known  them  again.  Do  you  remember 
we  saw  it  at  Toronto  thirty  years  ago,  with  Schneider  as  La 
Belle  Heline  ?  The  chorus  ladies  last  night  were  all  fatter  than 
Helen.  I  believe  they  were  some  of  the  fat  people  here 
"  curing  '*  paid  to  come  in  !  The  Due  and  Duchesse  d 'Orleans 
were  there.  I  hear  that  he  swears  at  her,  or  is,  anyhow,  most 
rude  to  her.     He  walks  every  day  at  the  waters — 6.30  to  7.15. 

There  is  a  funny-looking  music-hall  singer  here,  a  woman, 
most  strangely  dressed,  who  walks  about  hand  in  hand  with  a 
tall  German  man,  and  is  followed  by  a  mob  of  starers  on  the 
promenade.    She  is  well  known,  it  seems,  to  all  the  men  here. 

I  am  reading  Du  Manner's  The  Martian — what  the  "  Martian  " 
means  I  don't  know — very  pleasant  memories  of  his  French 
schooldays,  and  of  some  Admirable  Crichton  who  was  at  school 
with  him,  who  is,  I  dare  say,  a  real  person.  We  saw  a  chit  of 
a  maid  at  Cologne,  who  presented  herself  for  Frances,  dressed  in  a 
cocky  Tyrolese  hat  and  bersagli^re  plume.    She  would  not  do. 


Klinger's,  18/7/98. 

I  have  great  fun  in  the  morning  in  avoiding  old  Galliffet.      Lady 
I  have  never  spoken  or  bowed  to  him  yet,  and  he  is  determined  ^oiseiev. 


372  THE  LETTERS  OF 

I  shall,  but  so  far  my  "  ruses  "  have  succeeded,  and  as  I  am 
much  more  agile  on  my  legs  than  he  is,  I  always  escape.  I 
always  remember  he  was  rude  about  that  article  on  Cavalry 
by  General  Maurice  some  years  ago,  and  besides,  if  he  wants  to 
continue  the  acquaintance,  he  should  come  and  deposer  une 
carte,  and  not  expect  to  speak  to  me  out  walking,  as  if  I  were  a 
nurserymaid.  He  has  a  friend,  a  fat  young  Frenchman,  who 
helps  him  to  hunt  me,  and  I  look  perfectly  unconscious,  and 
they  don't  think  I  know  their  little  games.  Poor  old  G.  looks 
eighty  now,  and  very  trembly  on  his  poor  legs,  but  appears 
full  of  conversational  fire. 


Klinger's,  26/7/98. 

Lady  I  can't  bear  to  think  of  all  the  horrid  things  you  have  to  do 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  ^j^^j,  ^^^y — Levee,  Bisley,  torpedoes,  etc.,  while  I  sit  reading 
Dumas  and  thinking  of  the  Medicis  under  a  tree  in  the  sun. 
You  must  have  a  nice  holiday  after  the  manoeuvres.  Yachting 
would  be  best,  I  think,  unless  little  Glynde  is  fairly  ready,  and 
then  I  think  you  would  like  that. 

Nuremberg, 
27/7/98. 

Lady  We  had  quite  a  pleasant  journey  here,  through  a  very  pretty 

Woiseiey.  QQ^ntry,  part  of  which  is  what  they  call  the  "  German  Switzer- 
land." The  wild  flowers  all  along  the  line  growing  in  great 
variety  and  profusion.  I  don't  think  I  ever  was  more  shaken 
about.  My  spine  nearly  dislocated.  A  young  German  couple 
who  travelled  with  us  never  uttered  a  word  to  one  another.  I 
thought  how  you  and  /  would  have  chattered.  To-morrow  at 
8.30  we  go  on  to  Anspach  to  see  the  eighteenth-century  palace 
there,  and  we  sleep  at  Wiirzburg.  GallifEet  had  to  return  to  Paris 
to  give  evidence  for  Picquart  in  the  Dreyfus  case. 

Lady  H.  told  me  that  the  P.  of  W.  is  to  be  put  on  board  the 
Osborne  with  machinery  that  will  lower  him  to  his  cabin,  and 
raise  him  to  the  deck,  where  he  can  be  under  an  awning.  Neither 
she  nor  her  lord  knew  who  Princess  Charlotte,  daughter  of 
George  iv.,  was. 

Warning  to  A.D.C. — I  do  not  see  your  name  (in  Morning 
Post)  written  for  the  P.  of  Wales.     What  are  your  lazy  myr- 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  373 

midons  about  ?     Have  it  done  at  once,  though  much  too  late, 
and  tell  them  to  be  watchful  about  these  matters. 


WURZBURG,   29/7/98. 

When  I  arrived  yesterday  there  were  three  nice  letters  from     Lady 
you  waiting  for  me,  and  I  have  had  another  this  morning,  also  a  ^°^^^^* 
couple  had  arrived  from  F.     All  that  she  writes  in  her  letters 
to  you  is  entirely  spontaneous.     I  have  said  nothing.     I  don't 
think  hints  are  a  success  with  young  people. 

We  spent  some  hours  dehghtfully  at  Anspach — which  here  is 
written  Ansftach — yesterday  going  over  the  palace  there.  It  is 
indeed  a  treasure-honse.  of  beautiful  eighteenth-century  things, 
many  given  by  Frederick  the  Great  to  his  sister  "  Louise,"  who 
was  Markgrafin  there.  I  must  tell  you  all  about  it.  Twenty-two 
state  rooms,  all  in  perfect  order,  the  best  Louis  xv.  plaster  work 
and  furniture  ;  such  Dresden  and  Berlin  china.  Such  tapestry ! 
We  had  no  one  going  round  with  us  except  the  intelligent  and 
enthusiastic  custodian,  so  it  was  really  pleasant.  He  says  very 
few  people  go  there — one  lady  from  Brussels,  who  writes  about  it, 
and  one  Englishman  often,  "  Ernest  Vivian,"  who  writes  before- 
hand and  stays  two  days  and  knows  a  great  deal  !  That  is  the 
present  Lord  Swansea.  Then  we  came  on  here.  I  think  you 
stayed  once  at  this  hotel  after  Battlefields  and  on  your  way  to 
meet  us  at  Dresden.  I  am  off  to  have  a  "  bouillon  "  and  to  see 
the  bishop's  palace  here,  also  full  of  treasures. 

6  Sussex  Square,  Brighton, 
1/11/98. 

It  seems  very  fiat  and  dull  without  you  coming  home  I  Lady 
still  I  like  to  think  you  haven't  the  late  journey.  I  hope  you  ^°^^^^' 
are  comfortable  in  your  new  gUe  ?  It  has  been  a  lovely  day.  It 
might  be  first  of  July  instead  of  November.  Look  at  your 
three  dress  suits,  and  see  how  a  careful  wife  has  had  them  (waist- 
coat, coat,  and  trousers)  marked  with  Lord  Wolseley  and 
numbered.  One  is  your  best,  2  the  next,  3  will  do  for  smoking 
dinners.  Tell  your  present  valet -er  to  put  them  out  accordingly. 
They  can't  be  lost  at  country  hpuses  or  exchanged  for  other  men's 
suits.  Mrs.  "  Frederick  "  and  her  girl  spoke  to  me  on  "  the  front." 
The  latter  such  a  **  trying-on"-girl  figure  and  dress.  Such  a  toque. 


374    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

and  chains,  and  bangles,  and  feathers,  and  furs,  and  flowers. 
She  might  have  had  ten  husbands  as  regards  assurance  of  manner 
(and  have  been  divorced  by  them  all).  She  made  me  feel  my 
manners  belong  to  a  bygone  generation. 


6  S.  Square,  3/11/98. 

Lady  The  brougham,  Sir  Red  vers,  and  groom  Edward  Ridley  will  be 

at  16  William  Street  Mews,  Lowndes  Square,  if  you  will  let  him 
know  there  what  hour  you  want  brougham  to  take  you  into 
City  to  the  dinner.  Do  not  send  him  the  order  before  two  o'clock, 
as  he  has  to  meet  Sir  Redvers  at  the  station  and  will  not  get  to 
16  William  Street  Mews  earlier  than  two.  Henceforward  he 
and  the  horse  and  brougham  are  to  be  at  your  service.  As  this 
is  strictly  business  I  shall  add  nothing  more  for  fear  of  confusing 
you.     Except  my  love.     I  am  more  than  a  mother  to  you. 


1 899 


CHAPTER  XXX 

NiDDRiE,  Midlothian, 
April  1899. 

I  enclose  official  address  of  this  old  house  and  name  of  Lord 
telegraph  station  should  you  want  to  "  wire  "  me  any  message,  ^^^^'^^y- 
A  nice  old  house  built  at  several  periods.  I  am  in  the  oldest  part 
of  it.  The  outside  walls  of  my  bedroom  and  sitting-room  are 
over  five  feet  in  thickness,  ceilings  very  low.  Bedroom  modern- 
ised, alas,  but  the  sitting-room  is  still  panelled — mouldings  good 
— nice  old  engravings  and  curious  old  oil-paintings  in  quaint 
frames.  The  grounds  round  the  house  pretty,  with  a  small 
stream  of  running  water  near  the  house.  Some  near  neighbours 
with  nice  old  houses — Sir  R.  Dick-Cunyngham,  the  A.D.C.  to  the 
General  here,  and  Captain  Gilmour,  who  married  a  Lygon,  and 
was  in  a  Guards'  battalion  in  Dublin  when  we  went  there.  The 
room  in  which  we  dined  last  night  was  very  low,  with  a  quaint 
and  handsome  ceiling  in  plaster,  done  by  French  workmen,  as 
dated  by  them  in  large  old-fashioned  figures,  1661.  The  house 
has  been  burnt  and  gutted  several  times.  Cromwell,  when  he 
besieged  Edinburgh,  helped  to  destroy  it.  Nice  old  family 
pictures  ;  a  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  and  a  Raebum  of  Andy's  great- 
grandfather, who  was  in  the  Royal  Dragoons  with  my  grandfather 
at  the  battle  of  Minden. 

We  have  staying  in  the  house,  self,  Tony  Weldon  and  Colonel 
Allen  (both  with  me),  Lady  Ventry,  Miss  Baird,  daughter  of 
Sir  David  Baird,  a  Miss  Wauchope,  a  cousin,  and  a  Miss  Battis- 
combe,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Andy,  I  think.     Miss  Baird  is  quite  six 


376  THE  LETTERS  OF 

feet  high,  very  fair  in  colour  of  hair  and  in  complexion,  and 
decidedly  handsome.  Mrs.  Andy,  looking  very  pretty  in  black 
satin  with  her  white  hair,  very  pale  face,  dark  eyes  and  eye- 
brows, and  very  slim  and  graceful  figure,  is  a  pleasant  hostess 
to  look  at. 

I  sat  up  last  night  here  reading  about  the  moon  in  Sir  R. 
Ball's  Story  of  the  Heavens.  You  gave  me  a  copy  of  it  when 
in  Ireland,  and  I  shall  read  it  again  when  we  can  get  at  our 
books.  It  is  so  plain,  so  easily  understood,  and  so  pleasantly 
told. 

I  could  write  much  more  if  I  only  had  a  good  swan's  quill 
to  dip  into  the  ink-bottle  of  the  very  pretty  old  pierced  silver 
inkstand,  but  with  this  pin-headed  implement  of  a  writer's  misery 
I  am  unable  to  go  on. 


2/5/99. 
Lord  I  had  an  inspection  of  the  Guards  in  the  morning — ^felt  a 

woiseiey.  j-^^^e  seedy  afterwards  and  lay  down  until  lunch.  Then  a  rush 
of  work,  and  it  was  past  5  p.m.  when  I  left  that  hateful  War  Office. 
This  morning  I  am  off  to  Caterham  and  do  not  get  back  to  my 
lodgings  until  half-past  four.  But  to-morrow  I  shall  be  able  to 
get  at  Ponsonby  Fane  and  perhaps  at  Reggy  Brett  about  the 
Hampton  Court  rooms. 

My  engagements  for  to-morrow  are  : 
Noon,  Army  Board. 

Lunch  to  meet  Father  Brindle,  now  a  bishop,  at  1.30  p.m. 

Dine  with  Cloth  workers. 

On  Thursday  I  start  for  Yorkshire.     I  should  so  like  to  lie 

down  and  go  to  sleep  instead  of  all  this  useless  whirl  and  turmoil. 

I  return  to  London  on  Wednesday  to  dine  with  Fishmongers, 

and  perhaps  I  may  have  to  go  to  Dra wing-Room  that  day. 

Please  ask  Frances  if  she  has  seen  a  book  lying  about  any- 
where called  A  Son  of  Empire,  by  Morley  Roberts  ?  I  had  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Conan  Doyle  saying  he  had  sent  it  to  me, 
which  I  have  never  answered,  waiting  until  book  arrived. 
Please  answer  this,  as  I  must  write  to  Conan  Doyle.  At  the 
Lockwood's  dinner  our  party  of  twelve  was  kept  waiting  by 
Arthur  Balfour,  who  has  a  trick  of  always  being  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  later  than  any  one  else. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


377 


Sandringham,  Norfolk, 
Saturday  Evening,  before  Dinner,  25/11/99. 

I  came  here  with  a  large  party.  Acton,  Bishop  of  London, 
Lascelles,  our  Ambassador  in  BerHn,  Duke  of  Cambridge,  and 
General  Williams,  and  some  varied  foreigners.  H.R.H.  in  the 
hall  as  usual  to  receive  us.  Just  been  interrupted  by  a  footman 
bringing  me  a  flower  for  my  buttonhole.  I  have  no  buttonhole 
in  my  coat,  and  the  man  says  I  should  have  a  white  waistcoat, 
but  I  haven't  got  one.  He  says  several  others  have  none.  I  am 
glad  to  hear  it.  The  nicest  feature  here  is  the  Princess,  still 
pretty,  always  gracious  and  anxious  to  say  and  do  nice,  pleasant 
things.  She  spoke  about  you  and  the  hospital  ship,  and  said 
she  was  glad  to  see  you  there,  and  our  future  King  told  me 
the  same  afterwards.  The  Empress,  as  before,  entirely  con- 
ventional, acting  a  part  long  learnt  and  trying  to  put  on  an  air  of 
being  interested  in  men,  things,  and  events  which  don't  concern 
her  or  hers  in  the  least,  and  about  whom  and  which  she  naturally 
cares  nothing  and  knows  very  little. 


Lord 
Wolseley, 


Sunday  Morning. 

I  should  say  that  we  were  about  sixty  at  dinner,  so  the  table 
was  somewhat  crowded.  I  sat  next  the  Duchess  of  York,  who  is 
growing  more  and  more  like  her  mother,  whom  every  one  liked. 
On  my  other  side  I  had  Acton,  who  is  always  pleasant  and  full  of 
information  ;  his  room  is  also  next  mine,  and  I  sat  up  with  him 
there  for  nearly  an  hour  after  the  women  had  retired  and  the 
men  had  gone  to  smoke.  The  two  young  Princesses  are  here, 
the  tall,  delicate  one  and  the  little  one  who  married  the  Dane  ; 
I  presume  the  Danish  Prince  also.  Lady  M.  Lygon  in  waiting 
on  the  Duchess  of  York.  I  hear  she  longs  to  go  back  to  Australia, 
which  she  liked  immensely. 


Lord 
Wolseleyi 


London,  6.30  p.m.,  17/12/99. 

I  broke  off  a  letter  I  was  writing  to  you  at  5  p.m.,  being      Lord 
sent  for  by  Lansdowne.     It  was  to  say  that  the  Cabinet  jy^s/^r^oy  ^°^"^^y- 
decided  to  send  out  Lord  Roberts  as  C.-in-C.  to  South  Africa, 
with  Kitchener  as  his  Chief  of  the  Staff.     He  had  previously 
given  me  no  inkling  of  this,  although  I  had  seen  him  yester- 
day after  the  Cabinet,  and  this  morning.     He  said  that,  of 


378    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND   LADY  WOLSELEY 

course,  the  first  name  that  had  occurred  to  the  Cabinet 
was  mine,  but  that  I  could  not  be  spared  (all  nonsense),  and 
that  he  felt  my  health  might  not  stand  it.  A  few  more 
banalities,  and  then  he  said  that  the  combination  of  Roberts 
and  Kitchener  was  considered  the  best  and  most  hkely  to  be 
approved  by  the  pubhc.  I  said,  "  Were  I  in  Buller's  place,  I 
should  resign  at  once,  and  I  think  you  will  have  his  resignation 
back  at  once  as  his  answer  to  your  telegram/'  Of  course,  they 
expect  this,  and  have,  I  presume,  discounted  it. 

In  the  meantime,  news  just  in  that  poor  young  Roberts  has 
died  of  his  wound.  I  feel  for  Roberts  and  his  wife  from  my 
heart. 

Eaton  Square, 
13/9/99- 
Lady  Dearest, — Not  One  line  have  I  written  you,  and  I  write  this 

0  se  ty.  jg^^^  ^^  night.  Last  night  we  went  to  Carnac  Sahib,  Jones's  new 
play.  Deplorably  dull  and  silly :  quite  an  Adelphi  piece. 
Jingo,  blood,  and  thunder ;  hysterical  officers  and  dreadful 
women.  To-night  we  have  been  to  the  Gay  Lord  Quex.  Quite 
excellent.  SHghtly  improper,  but  most  amusing.  See  it 
whenever  you  want  a  play.  How  are  you  getting  through  your 
functions  ?  I  am  negotiating  for  the  house,  but  will  take  no 
step  without  telling  you. 

Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes,  12/10/99. 

Lady  The  reason  I  did  not  let  you  know  of  our  being  in  town  was 

Woiseiey.  ^j^^^  j  thought  you  would  feel  worried  at  having  to  try  to  get  to 

Ryder  Street  by  five  o'clock.     I  am  sure  you  must  be  dreadfully 

harassed.     It  is  a  nasty  dull  day  here,  misty  and  foggy.     We 

have  plenty  to  do,  so  what  does  weather  matter. 

I  hope  Saturday  will  see  you  here.  You  shall  have  a  per- 
fectly peaceful  day,  no  picture  hanging  or  anything  else  to 
torment  you.  You  can't  have  to  work  at  W.O.  on  Sunday,  I 
should  hope. 

How  nice  of  the  Queen  to  think  of  the  horses  !  Dear  Lady, 
I  like  her  for  it. 


igoo 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

London,  17/1/1900. 

No  news  from  Duller  yet.  I  feel  sure  that  Warren  must  Lord 
have  fought  either  this  morning  or  yesterday  afternoon  :  I  ^^^^^^^y- 
should  have  thought  the  latter.  But  I  have  had  a  letter  from 
him  written  after  his  unfortunate  battle  near  Colenso.  I  will 
enclose  it  in  this,  also  one  from  Tony  Weldon,  who  seems  de- 
lighted at  having  himself  seen  a.  battle.  There  is  to  be  a 
meeting  of  the  Defence  Committee,  I  believe,  to-morrow,  and 
Lansdowne  has  asked  me  to  attend  to  describe  my  demands. 
He  told  me  what  he  thought  the  Cabinet  would  agree  to,  and  I 
said  that  would  be  entirely  inadequate.  If  I  send  in  my  re- 
signation I  will  send  you  a  telegram  to  say,  "  Joseph  has  given 
warning,*'  and  as  soon  as  I  hear  news  from  Buller  and  Warren 
on  the  Tugela,  I  will,  as  we  arranged  when  I  was  at  Gl3mde, 
say  Joseph's  character  is  very  good,  or  good,  or  indifferent,  or 
bad,  as  the  news  happens  to  be. 

7  p.m. — Not  a  word  from  Buller  yet.  Bad  news  travels  fast, 
they  say,  but  it  is  also  said  that  no  news  is  good  news.  I  don't 
like  the  undertaking  as  far  as  I  understand  BuUer's  plans.  We 
must  hear  to-night. 

January  1900. 

How  long  they  are  making  up  their  governmental  minds.      Lady    ^ 

Sunday  you  did  the  deed  and  this  is  Thursday.     They  won't   ^^^^^^^^y- 

let  you  go 

379 


38o  THE  LETTERS  OF 

London,  19/1/1900. 

Lord  It  is  now  past  6  p.m.,  and  I  have  just  left  that  horrid  War 

oiseiey.  Qf^^^^  where  I  have  been  all  day.  I  have  had  a  good  tumbler 
of  milk  and  am  somewhat  revived  in  strength  by  it,  though 
not  brightened  in  spirits  by  a  long  sitting  on  the  Defence  Com- 
mittee. "Go,  my  son,"  said  the  great  Swedish  Minister,  **  and 
see  by  what  fools  the  world  is  governed."  Well,  I  always  come 
away  from  these  meetings  of  Ministers  in  saddened  frame  of 
mind  when  I  have  listened  for  some  time  to  the  military  folly 
talked  by  most  of  those  who  comprise  that  Committee.  As  I 
sat  at  that  table  and  looked  round  at  it,  I  was  appalled  at  the 
folly  of  men  assembled  to  discuss  the  most  serious  subject  any 
Cabinet  could  discuss.  The  whole  time  was  taken  up  in  worry- 
ing over  the  number  of  field  guns  we  should  order,  and  the 
machinery  we  should  erect  to  make  guns,  ammunition,  etc. 
When  6  p.m.  approached.  Chamberlain  left,  and  the  rest  were 
tired  and  bored,  and  when  they  are  to  meet  again  I  know  not. 
I  shall  take  the  night  to  determine  upon  my  future  action,  and 
will  let  you  know  further  when  we  meet,  D.V.,  at  6  p.m.  to- 
morrow. 

I  sent  you  a  telegram  just  now  saying  we  had  no  news  as 
yet.  But  a  battle  must,  I  should  say,  have  come  off  to-day. 
We  shall  hear  probably  before  midnight. 


London,  24/1/1900. 

Lord\  The  Duke  of  Connaught  has  just  come  into  my  room.    The 

IWoiseiey.  Government  have  given  me  all  the  48  Batteries  of  Artillery  I 

demanded,  and  I  am  still  strugghng  over  the  addition  I  want  for 

the  Foot.     They  have  given  me  fifteen  new  battalions  to  begin 

with,  so  I  am  busy  trying  to  start  them. 


London,  26/1/1900. 

'Lord  Very  bad  news  from  Buller,  my  dear  child — ^I  am  in  despair 

Woiseiey.  ^^  ^j^  ^^^  misfortunes.  God  seems  to  be  with  the  Boers  and 
against  us.  Warren  abandoned  Spion  Kop  after  200  were  killed 
and  about  300  were  wounded,  most  of  them  severely. 

I  am  not  easily  depressed,  but  what  a  helpless  condition  one 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  381 

is  in  here — 7000  miles  away  from  the  actual  seat  of  war.     Yet 
I  feel  that  I  have  no  right  to  blame  men  at  a  distance. 

I  go  to  Duke  of  Teck's  funeral  to-morrow,  and  I  fear  I  may 
have  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Defence  Committee  or  at  least 
see  Lansdowne  after  he  has  left  the  Cabinet,  so^I  may  not  be  able 
to  get  down  by  4.30  p.m.  train.  I  have  been  with  Lansdowne 
and  Arthur  Balfour  for  a  couple  of  hours  and  have  frightened 
the  latter  considerably.  I  want  them  now  to  go  much  beyond 
my  former  proposals,  and  to  collect  a  considerable  Army  in 
England,  to  show  the  world  we  still  have  plenty  of  resources 
left. 

London,  31/1/1900. 

I  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  meet  you  at  Victoria  Station  at     fLord 
4.30  this  afternoon,  but  there  was  a  Cabinet,  and  Lansdowne  ^^^^^^^y* 
asked  me  to  stay  here  until  he  came  back  from  it.     It  is  now  past 
5  p.m.  and  he  has  not  yet  returned,  so  I  have  missed  seeing  you, 
missed  the  only  little  real  pleasure  I  now  can  have  to  brighten 
my  hard  dull  life  here  each  day. 

We  had  a  wretched  debate  in  the  House  of  Lords  yesterday. 
Lord  Salisbury  for  once  unsatisfying :  halting,  and  in  want  of 
words. 

I  am  interrupted  every  moment,  for  I  write  this  in  my  ofi&ce. 
I  began  a  sentence — ^as  you  will  see — ^but  don't  remember  now 
what  it  was  I  intended  telling  you.  I  sat  up  till  past  4  a.m. 
writing. 

London,  Wednesday,  14/2/1900. 

I  cannot  bear  to  think  of  my  poor  Uttle  wife  being  so  sorely      Lord 
tried  by  those  horrid  servants.     It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at   ^^^^^^^v* 
that  those  who  keep  servants  should  take  Httle  interest  in  them, 
for  they  are  a  selfish,  spoilt,  and  ungenerous  and  ungrateful  lot. 
The  only  drawback  I  know  of  living  in  the  country,  is  the  diffi- 
culty of  keeping  servants  permanently  there. 

Lansdowne  could  not  get  a  Cabinet  yesterday,  but  was  to 
see  Lord  Salisbury  and  Balfour  yesterday  evening,  and  I  feel 
sure  will  give  me  all  I  have  asked  for — ^if  not,  I  go.  Enclosed 
from  Henry  Wilmot  may  interest  you.  Poor  feUow,  when  I 
read  his  letter  I  feel  how  much  I  have  to  thank  God  for — ^we  are 
about  the  same  age.  He  may  be  perhaps  a  couple  of  years  older 
than  I  am,  and  yet  I  am  hale  and  hearty,  he  a  cripple. 


Lady 
Wolseley. 


382 


THE  LETTERS  OF 

T.$th  February  1900. 


What  a  triumph  to  have  made  them  give  in — your  telegram 
just  arrived.  Little  L.  ought  to  be  everlastingly  grateful  to  you 
for  helping  him,  but  I  dare  say  he  isn't.  I  picture  that  it  was 
settled  without  a  Cabinet  so  that  it  should  not  be  known  to 
many.  Mind  you  recollect  every  detail  of  the  affair  to  tell  me 
on  Saturday. 


Lord 

Wolseley. 


London,  15/3/1900. 

Just  a  line  to  say  I  hope  you  are  relieved  from,  at  least, 
some  of  servants'  troubles.  But  I  believe  every  one  who  lives 
in  the  country  is  similarly  tried,  so  please,  for  my  sake,  don't 
take  the  matter  too  much  to  heart. 

I  dined  last  night  at  one  of  Sir  Henry  Thompson's  octaves — 
a  pleasant  dinner.  In  the  middle  of  it  I  received  the  telegram 
you  have  seen  in  to-day's  papers  announcing  Roberts  having 
entered  Bloemfontein  without  opposition.  That  was  the  event 
of  the  evening.  Our  party  was,  the  Headman  at  Kew — ^name 
unknown  ;  Sir  E.  Maunde  Thompson,  Head  of  British  Museum  ; 
Mr.  Asquith,  George  Trevelyan,  the  Times  man — ^name  forgotten, 
but  like  Verdant  Green  in  face.    I  forget  the  others. 

I  have  just  come  in  from  a  jog  round  the  Park,  and  feel  quite 
warmed  by  the  gentle  exercise.  It  looks  like  rain.  If  I  have 
a  moment  I  will  write  to  Frances  to  thank  her  for  the  box  of 
flowers  ;  they  are  delightful.  The  violets  scent  my  room.  She 
is  very  successful  in  her  gardening. 


Lord 
Wolseley, 


Battle  Abbey,  Battle, 
25/3/1900- 
Tea  is  over,  and  I  am  glad  to  get  back  to  the  reality  of  my 
bedroom  to  scribble  you  a  few  lines  before  we  mingle  together 
again  in  the  unreality  of  the  "  dinner-party."  We  all  went  to 
church,  and  most  of  us  had  a  short  walk  after  lunch.  This 
place  is  lovely  still,  and  even  at  this  early  season,  and  when  the 
snow  is  in  the  clouds,  which  spit  flakes  upon  us  from  time  to  time, 
there  is  much  in  blossom.  If  I  were  a  very  rich  man,  I  think  I 
should  like  this  above  most  of  the  lovely  houses  of  England. 
I  should  like  to  employ  Bodley  to  restore  it,  and  to  make  it  as 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  383 

beautiful  as  it  was  when  the  monks  frequented  its  cloisters  and 
sang  masses  for  the  souls  of  Norman  Kings  of  England.  This 
love  of  old  churches  and  ruined  castles  is  one  of  my  earliest 
whims  and  tastes.  As  a  boy  I  longed  for  money  to  buy  up  old 
fortifications,  and  always  imagined  how  delightful  it  would  be 
to  live  in  a  place  that  had  been  the  home  of  knights  and  soldiers, 
and  even  of  lazy,  cunning  monks. 

We  had  a  big  dinner  the  other  night  at  the  Beaumonts.^ 
I  took  in  Lady  Reay,  and  had  Mrs.  Asquith  on  my  other  side. 
She  was  very  bright  and  full  of  interesting  gabble  about  herself, 
her  husband,  and  upon  all  things  and  people  in  heaven  and  on 
earth. 


London,  4/4/1900. 

To-day  is  bright  and  fine,  with  an  inspiriting  sun,  which  I  Lord 
hope  may  shine  full  on  the  Queen  as  she  lands  at  Dublin.  What  ^^^^^^* 
a  wonderful  woman  at  her  age  !  I  dined  at  the  Morleys — Lord, 
not  John  M.  How  young  Lady  Morley  looks !  Except  that  she 
is  not  so  thin  as  when  she  married,  I  see  little  change  in  her. 
I  talked  most  to  Miss  Chamberlain — Joe's  daughter — she  is 
clever  and  has  plenty  to  say. 


London,  27/6/1900. 

I  have  just  come  from  dining  with  Mrs.  Craigie,  where  we  had      Lord 
eighteen  men.     I  had  much  talk  with  John  Morley,  who  wants  ^^ofc«/«y. 
to  speak  to  me  quietly  about  Gladstone.     I  said  he  had  better 
come  down  to  stay  with  us  from  Saturday  to  Monday,  at  which 
proposal  he  seemed  to  jump.     He  is  much  nicer  as  a  companion 
than  when  he  was  the  pohtician  pure  and  simple. 

I  dine  with  Lord  Salisbury  on  Friday  to  meet  the  Khedive, 
and  on  Monday  at  Marlborough  House  to  meet  him  again, 
and  the  Khedive  has  asked  you  and  me  to  dine  with  him  next 
Sunday,  the  ist  July — will  you  go  ?  I  am  telegraphing  to  know. 
/  must  go,  so  I  shall  miss  my  Sunday  with  you,  which  I  deplore. 
I  await  your  answer  to  my  telegram  to  reply  to  Khedive's 
invitation.  As  you  say — "  poor  Lord  Airlie !  "  It  is  the  loss  of  a 
brave  and  good  soldier. 

1  Afterwards  Lord  and  Lady  Allendale. 


384  THE  LETTERS  OF 


London,  16/9/1900. 

Lord  A  Sunday  in  town  at  this  season  is  not  a  bit  exciting.     I 

Woisdey.  j^q^^q  j^g^  come  from  an  hour's  enjoyment  of  the  Wallace 
Collection.  I  had  never  seen  it  since  you  and  I  were  there 
together,  when  Wallace  did  the  honours  of  his  house  himself. 
One  of  the  things  I  had  carried  away  in  my  mind  from  the 
previous  visit  with  you  was  the  bronze  bust  of  Turenne.  I  had 
much  difficulty  in  finding  the  Turenne,  which  is  under  the  staircase. 
The  cuirass  and  chains  over  the  shoulders  to  join  it  to  the  back- 
piece  are  richly  gilt,  which  adds  much  life  to  it.  But  now  that 
I  have  seen  it  again,  I  do  not  think  it  as  fine  as  the  Queen's 
bronze  of  my  hero.  What  a  collection  of  naked  and  half-naked 
women!  These  pictures  of  nude  women  in  every  seductive 
attitude  that  the  artist  and  his  naked  friend,  the  model,  can 
imagine,  will  always  be  something  of  a  shock  to  the  sober- 
minded  English  gentleman  or  gentlewoman.  Nude  statues 
/  somehow  are  never  to  me  so  bad  as  nude  pictures. 


Aix-les-Bains,  18/9/1900. 

Lady  We  are  all  very  happy  together.    On  Sunday  we  drove  out 

Woiseiey.  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  Wilmot  and  her  garden.  It  is  on  the  side  of  a  hill 
sloping  down  to  the  Lake  (Bourget),  with  views  of  exquisite 
mountains  on  the  other  side  of  the  Lake.  The  flowers,  shrubs, 
vines,  are  most  beautiful,  a  wild  tangle  of  loveliness,  the  most 
artistically  natural,  or  naturally  artistic,  thing  you  ever  saw. 
Of  course,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  labour  and  art  in  it  all,  but  it 
looks  as  if  Nature  had  her  own  way.  A  nice  old,  house.  We  had 
tea  on  a  hard,  stone,  creeper-hung  verandah. 

I  Hked  the  A.  and  N.  article  on  your  pension,  and  hope  it 
may  do  good,  but  goodness  knows  if  it  will.  It  was  amusing 
and  clever  of  them  to  put  it  as  if  Lord  L.  was  so  anxious  that 
you  should  be  well  rewarded,  and  they  wished  to  strengthen 
his  hand  !  To-day  we  "  excursion  *'  to  Chambery,  and  I  hope 
shall  see  "  Les  Charmettes,"  a  house  Rousseau  lived  in.  This 
is  a  very  relaxing  place,  I  think,  at  least  in  the  town.  On  the 
mountains  it  must  be  quite  different.  I  should  be  happy  if 
only  you  were  doing  something  healthy  and  happy,  and  not  tied 
to  that  unhealthy  W.O.     I  wish  you  could  have  gone  to  Cromer. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  385 

We  went  to  a  delightful  2-franc  entertainment  last  night, 
which  included  fireworks,  a  concert,  and  a  very  good  ballet. 
Also  saw  all  the  wretches  gambling  at  the  petits  chevaux, 
painted,  scented,  pinched,  and  padded  male  and  female  hacks, 
but  very  amusing  to  look  at. 


Brocket  Hall,  Hatfield, 
21st  September  1900. 

The  weather  here  is  delightful,  clear  and  bright  and  sunny,  Lord 
but  chilly  when  the  day  closes.  I  had  a  fire  in  my  room  last  ^^^^'^^ 
night.  Where  I  sleep  is  on  the  ground  floor,  my  window  looks 
out  upon  a  garden  full  of  flowers  and  yew  hedges.  It  is  the  room 
in  which  Lord  Melbourne  died.  In  the  bathroom,  through  which 
you  enter  it,  is  a  bookcase  fiUed  with  delightful  old  works  and 
nice  old  bindings  and  book-plates  of  the  Lamb  and  Lewis 
families  that  would  delight  Frances.  They  tempt  one  to  steal. 
The  first  night  I  came  here,  Wednesday,  I  was  the  only  visitor, 
but  yesterday  arrived  a  Miss  Hunter  —  a  great  traveller. 
Yesterday  we,  the  Mount  Stephens  and  self,  had  a  lovely  drive 
about  here,  and  during  its  solemn  progress — for  I  cannot  re- 
member when  I  ever  before  "  went  out  for  a  drive  "  anywhere — 
we  saw  through  a  long  vista  of  some  three-quarters  of  a  mile  of 
trees,  the  back  view  of  Hatfield  House,  and  it  was  superb.  You 
remember  that  in  the  back  it  formed  the  letter  E,  into  which 
we  looked.  It  was  a  most  imposing  pile  at  that  distance. 
Coming  from  the  Downs  of  Sussex  this  forest  scenery  is  very 
striking,  and  makes  one  feel  how  lovely  and  how  diversified  in 
its  beauty  is  this  splendid  England  of  ours. 


H6TEL  Beau  Rivage,  Lac  d'Annecy,  Savoie, 
25/9/1900. 

I  heard  from  you  to-day  from  Quidenham.  Yesterday  Lady 
morning  we  drove  out  here  from  Annecy  to  dejeuner.  We  ^^^«^- 
did  not  like  the  Annecy  Hotel,  in  a  very  stuffy,  smelly  street. 
We  thought  we  would  look  at  this  view  and  taste  the  food. 
It  is  about  2  miles  from  Annecy,  on  the  Lake,  with  lovely 
views.  Only  opened  this  year,  so  not  in  any  guide-book. 
Rather  primitive,  no  carpets,  no  bells  !  When  you  want  the 
25 


386  THE  LETTERS  OF 

housemaid  you  go  and  call  '*  Marie  "  over  the  banisters. 
Excellent  food,  in  a  large  loggia  room  open  to  the  Lake.  Eight 
and  a  half  francs  a  day — ^room,  lights,  food,  service  I  A  Uttle 
steam-launch,  belonging  to  the  hotel,  takes  you  into  Annecy, 
where  one  gets  the  steamer  for  excursions  round  the  Lake, 
price  20  cents  (for  the  steam-launch,  I  mean). 


Lac  d 'Annecy, 
28/9/1900. 

Lady  Frances  wrote  to  you  yesterday ;  I  did  not.    You  write  me 

^  *^  ^'  such  dear,  nice  letters.  I  read  them  over  and  over  again,  and 
think  what  a  lucky,  happy  woman  I  am.  To-day  our  little 
party  breaks  up.  It  has  been  an  unruffled  success  !  and  we  are 
mutually  sorry  to  part.  The  Morrells  go  to  Rouen  and  on  to 
England.  We  go  to  Geneva — I  am  drawn  there  by  a  desire 
to  see  Coppet,  where  Madame  de  Stael  lived,  and  Ferney,  where 
Voltaire  lived.  Yesterday,  despite  torrents  of  rain,  we  spent 
very  pleasantly  going  round  the  Lake  in  a  steamer,  and  at  a 
delightful  place,  "  Talloires,"  where  Besnard  has  his  villa. 
It  is  occupied  by  a  French  painter  called  "  Weber  **  for  the 
summer,  who  showed  me  all  over  it.  There  is  also  at  Talloires 
a  most  picturesque  monastery  turned  into  a  (very  bad)  hotel. 
Frances'  photos  will  explain  the  beauties  of  the  country  to 
you.    She  is  so  successful. 


Geneva,  1/10/1900. 

Lady  We  had  a  delightful  day  yesterday.     Saw  interesting  por- 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^^^  ^^^  MSS.  at  the  University  here  in  the  morning,  and 
then  went  to  Coppet  in  the  afternoon.  We  went  by  steamer. 
Coppet  is  quite  delightful.  A  little  old-fashioned  village,  with 
shops  under  arcades.  The  chateau  in  the  midst  of  it,  with  a 
small  park  on  one  side.  We  saw  all  Madame  de  Stael's  rooms, 
and  furniture  and  tapestries.  Nothing  is  changed.  Many 
portraits  of  her  and  of  all  her  friends.  Some  of  her  clothes. 
The  present  occupant,  the  Comte  d'Haussonville,  is  her  great- 
grandson.  Frances  took  five  or  six  snapshots  to  give  you  an 
idea  of  it. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  387 

GlYNDE,    T/-L2/l(p0. 

I  wish  beyond  words  we  were  together  to-day.     I  thought      £^y 
Lord  Lansdowne's  minute  not  only  poor  but  personally  against   Woiseiey. 
you,  whereas  your  minute  was  impersonal  and  only  attacked  the 
system.     I  am  so  glad  the  real  story  of  your  not  staying  till 
Lord  Roberts'  return  is  in  the  papers  now. 


igoi 

[In  March  Lord  Wolseley  was  detailed  to  announce  the  Accession 
of  King  Edward  VII.  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  the  Kings  of 
Roumania,  Servia  and  Greece,  and  the  Sultan  of  Turkey.] 


CHAPTER   XXXII 

The  Deanery,  Canterbury, 
New  Year's  Day,  190 1. 

Lord  I  want  the  first  time  I  write  190 1  on  a  letter  to  be  on  one 

WoheUy.  -^^ten  to  you,  my  dearest  little  wife.  I  telegraphed  to  you 
saying  the  uniform  I  wanted  for  Lord  Roberts'  arrival.  At 
least  I  assume  I  am  to  wear  what  I  have  ascertained  all  the 
Staff  are  to  wear.  They  will  be  mounted  ;  I  go  in  a  coup^, 
for  which  I  have  arranged.  Brodrick  offered  me  a  seat  in  his 
carriage.     He  may  get  into  a  row  over  the  Col  vile  incident. 

It  is  a  strong  measure,  overthrowing  the  arrangement  already 
made  as  a  settlement  of  the  business  by  Lansdowne  and  me. 
Lansdowne  may  say  he  did  it  upon  my  advice,  but  the  Army 
Board  were  all,  with  one  exception — ^namely,  Evelyn  Wood — ^in 
favour  of  letting  Col  vile  ^  off  with  a  wigging. 

I  have  already  been  to  three  services,  including  two  sermons 
— ^both  excellent — ^and  I  go  to  another  in  the  evening,  after  an 
early  dinner  at  6.30  p.m.,  when  Boyd-Carpenter  is  to  preach. 
Dean  Farrar's  sermon  was  fine  and  should  be  printed  and  sent 
to  every  man  and  woman  who  can  read  in  England. 


Hotel  Grand  Monarque,  Aix-la-Chapelle, 

24/3/1901. 

Lord  The  Ladies  insisted  upon  sending  me  to  the  station  in  their 

Wolseley.  caniage — I  had  sent  my  traps  with  George  half  an  hour  earher. 

My  rug  had  been  left  at  the  Athenaeum.     George  said  there  was 

plenty  of  time  to  fetch  it,  and  started.    The  train's  time  was  up, 

1  Sir  Henry  Colvile. 
388 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY     389 

no  George.  I  said  I  could  not  go  without  him.  Station- 
masters  rushing  about,  heads  out  of  carriages  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  delay,  angry  passengers.  I  was  in  despair ;  it  was  nearly 
two  minutes  past  eleven,  when  the  train  should  have  started. 
I  ran  out  and,  coming  round  the  comer,  a  hansom  cab  at  a  gallop. 
So  I  had  my  rug,  and  that  was  something,  with  a  cold  journey 
before  me.  Londonderry  came  to  see  his  son  off,  and  expressed 
himself  as  most  grateful  to  me  for  taking  him.  Lady  Castle- 
reagh  came  with  us  as  far  as  Calais ;  there  she  branched  for 
Paris  en  route  for  Madrid.  We  travel  luxuriously,  with  a 
special  carriage  all  to  ourselves  which  goes  with  us  to  Con- 
stantinople, and  we  have  a  great  suite  of  rooms  here  in  this 
gilded  house  of  call.  My  courier  is  a  little  fat  German  whose 
face  is  like  the  full  moon  with  coat  of  paint  over  it  to  make  it 
look  dirty. 

I  have  just  come  from  a  visit  to  the  "  State  House  *'  and 
to  the  Cathedral.  How  these  Germans  render  the  beautiful 
works  of  their  ancestors  hideous  by  the  intense  vulgarity  of 
their  taste !  They  have  no  conception  of  colour  or  of  its  use. 
The  State  House,  if  treated  by  Bodley,  might  be  truly  beautiful, 
whereas  it  is  all  encased  in  horrible  stucco  and  covered  with 
stencilling  of  the  worst  sort.  It  must  have  been  done  by  a 
third-rate  scene-painter.  But  the  Treasure  House  of  the 
great  Church!  How  it  has  escaped  the  iconoclast  and  the 
revolutionist,  I  cannot  imagine.  The  little  priest  who  had 
been  warned  to  be  ready  for  the  visit  of  the  **  Ambassador  " .' 
smelt  like  an  old  pipe,  and  spoke  French  with  an  accent  that 
was  difi&cult  to  follow.  I  have  Le  Rhin  to  read  in  the  train 
to-morrow. 


The  Old  Palace,  Vienna, 
2Sth  March  190 1. 

I  write  on  this  paper  because  of  the  above  arms,  which  are      Lord 
pretty.     I  have  just  arrived  and  driven  here  with  a  fat  old  ^°^^^^y- 
Austrian   General  who  has  been  told   off  to  look  after  me 
during  my  stay  in  the  palace,  which  comes  to  an  end  Wednes- 
day morning,  when  I  go  to  stay  with  Sir  Francis  Plunkett,  our 
Ambassador.  .  .  . 

Some  one  has  sent  me  The  Review  of  the  Week.     There  is 
a   poorly  written  article  defending  me  in  strong   terms,  but 


390  THE  LETTERS  OF 

referring  to  me  as  if  I  had  been  very  ill  and  consequently 
prevented  from  active  work.  I  wish  I  could  be  certain  who 
spread,  or  rather  invented,  this  malicious  story. 

I  drove  from  the  station  in  a  Royal  carriage ;  people  took 
their  hats  off,  I  assume,  for  the  gorgeous  Imperial  livery,  not 
for  the  little  English  F.M.  inside.  My  rooms  here  are  furnished 
very  much  like  a  German  hotel.  The  furniture  is  all  painted 
white,  the  sofas  and  chairs  badly  and  commonly  upholstered, 
many  pictures  of  no  moment.  Two  little  children — Grand 
Duchesses,  I  should  say — are  interesting  because  of  their 
costumes.  This  part  of  the  palace  was  built  by  the  father  of 
Marie  Therese.  You  know  from  trjdng  to  teach  me  the  parent- 
age and  descendants  of  Henry  iv.  how  slow  I  am  to  take  in 
genealogies. 

Vienna — British  Embassy, 
2yth  March  1901. 

Lord  I  sat  next  the  Emperor  last  night  at  the  dinner  he  gave  for 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  ^^^  ^^  talked  of  all  sorts  of  things.  Now  that  our  Queen 
is  no  more,  he  is  the  most  interesting  Royal  personage  in 
Europe.  For  many  years  he  has  been  very  faithful  to  an 
actress — she  is  now  about  forty — a  liaison  admitted  by  the 
Empress,  who  used  to  see  her  often  and  was  very  kind  to  her. 
His  daughters  continue  their  friendship  towards  her.  Quite 
lately  she  has  gone  abroad  and  left  him,  and  the  rumour  is  that 
she  will  never  return  unless  he  will  marry  her,  and  that  he  will 
not  do.  So  possibly  he  may  find  some  younger  lady  !  who  will 
be  less  exigeante  as  to  the  marriage  ceremony.  Our  Ambassador 
gives  a  banquet  this  evening.  I  left  cards  upon  all  the  foreign 
Ambassadors  to-day ;  one.  Nigra  (the  Italian),  begged  me  to 
remember  him  to  you,  and  said  he  had  the  very  pleasantest 
remembrance  of  you.  He  is  aged,  but  is  still  very  pleasant 
company.  I  would  sooner  be  master  of  a  workhouse  than  an 
Ambassador.  It  seems  to  me  that  his  life  is  almost  entirely 
made  up  of  trifling  social  duties ;  always  "  standing  at  attention," 
and  trying  to  give  to  little  ceremonies  the  dignity  which  in 
reality  can  only  pertain  to  big  national  concerns.  Last  night 
at  dinner  I  had  the  Inspector  of  Cavalry,  General  Prince 
Windischgratz,  on  the  other  side  of  me.  He  is  very  indistinct 
in  speech,  and  deaf  of  the  ear  next  to  me,  so  he  had  to  turn 
round  in  his  chair  to  bring  the  "  off  "  ear  near  my  mouth  when 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  391 

I  roared  my  indifferent  French  at  him.  I  have  had  a  curious 
General,  von  Rezinzek,  commanding  a  Brigade  in  Moravia,  and 
a  Captain,  Prince  Godefroi  Hohenlohe,  attached  to  me  since  I 
have  been  here.  The  latter  is  bright  and  clever,  speaks  English 
and  French  well.  The  former  is  tall,  stately,  and  stupid,  does 
not  understand  a  word  of  French,  is  supposed  to  speak  English, 
but  I  can  never  make  him  understand  a  word  of  it.  To-day  I 
wrote  to  thank  him  for  his  kindness  and  presented  him  with  a 
handsome  ink-case  in  silver,  engraved  with  the  Crown  of 
England,  and  under  it  "  Edward  vii."  I  wish  I  was  to  have  so 
nice  a  present.  To  the  Prince  I  am  to  give  a  very  nice  silver 
cigarette-box  lined  with  cedar,  with  the  same  Crown  and  in- 
scription engraved  upon  it.  I  have  just  written  to  the  King 
to  give  him  an  account  of  my  interview  with  the  Emperor  and 
of  what  I  said  when  I  "  deposed  "  the  King's  letter  "  entre  les 
mains  de  sa  Majesty  Imperiale  et  Royale." 

This  morning  to  the  Emperor's  magnificent  Riding  House, 
where  I  saw  about  ten  horses  put  through  the  haute-ecole :  it 
was  pretty,  but  was  too  much  like  circus  work.  In  the  after- 
noon I  was  taken  to  see  the  Imperial  Treasure.  The  ancient 
Crown  of  the  German  Emperors  was  unlike  anything  I  have  ever 
seen.  Magnificent  jewels ;  but  I  was  chiefly  interested  in  the 
beautifully  designed  cradle  made  for  Napoleon's  son  and  brought 
from  Paris  by  Marie  Louise  in  1814  when  she  bolted  back  to 
Austria. 

The  Palace,  Bucharest, 

1/4/1901. 

I  can  only  write  to  you  at  night.  I  cannot  write  in  the  Lord 
train,  and  every  moment  is  taken  up  with  engagements — some  ^°^^^^^' 
interesting,  others  not  so,  some  very  boring.  I  was  met  at  the 
frontier  by  the  Prefet  of  the  District  and  by  the  General  Com- 
manding the  Army  Corps  there.  My  baggage  was  late,  so  with 
much  difficulty  I  struggled  into  full-dress  uniform  by  7.30  p.m. 
I  was  taken  to  the  King's  apartments  ;  my  "suite  "  were  left  in 
the  antechamber,  and  I  sat  with  him  en  tete-d-tete  for  nearly  half 
an  hour.  He  looks  about  fifty,  but  is  well  over  sixty.  Then  the 
Queen  came  in,  a  tallish  woman  with  white  hair  drawn  up  over 
a  high  pad.  The  King  spoke  French  and  that  very  badly ;  the 
Queen  spoke  English  hke  an  EngUsh woman.  The  King  and 
Queen  sat  side  by  side  at  dinner.     The  Queen  has  read  every- 


392  THE  LETTERS  OF 

thing  and  seems  to  know  everything ;  she  said  how  sorry  the 
Princess  was  to  miss  me  here  ;  she  and  her  husband  had  gone  to 
Wiesbaden. 

The  Palace,  Bucharest, 
2nd  April  190 1. 

Lord  I  am  housed  here  sumptuously  in  the  apartment  occupied 

Woiseiey.  ^^  ^^^q  Emperor  of  Austria  when  he  paid  this  Court  a  visit. 
Plenty  of  pictures,  all  modem,  some  good  :  French  clocks  and 
much  ormolu  decorations  for  tables  and  cabinets.    The  King 
has  given  me  a  charming  enamel   picture  of    himself.    The 
Queen  has  given  me  a  book  with  her  name  in  it.     She  plays 
the  piano  really  well,  and  was  to-day  accompanied  by  two 
fiddlers  and  a  'cello.     She  keeps  an  Italian  secretary  for  his 
voice  and  fiddling.     But  you  know  that,  much  as  I  love  good 
music,  I  hate  all  fiddlers  and  singing  men.    Coffee  at  9  a.m. ;  at 
9.15  I  go  out  in  a  Royal  carriage,  my  suite  in  two  other  Royal 
carriages.     We  visit  barracks  and  institutions — ^few  worth  see- 
ing.   To-da^  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Head  of  the  Orthodox  (Greek) 
Church.     A  charming  old  man  of  good  family :  so  unlike  the 
ordinary,  dirty,   slovenly-looking  and  often   drunken-looking 
Greek  priest.     He  showed  me  some  curious  things,  amongst 
others  the  body  of  a  saint — some  200  years  old — in  a  silver 
cof&n ;   the  hand  only  was  uncovered,  and  that  the  devout 
kissed  frequently.     It  was  only  skin  and  bone  and  as  black  as 
my  boots.     About  5  p.m.  I  went  to  the  Queen's  apartment, 
where  we  had  the  music  I  have  already  told  you  of.    There  were 
many  ladies  present ;  one  played  the  harp.     Then  the  Queen 
sat  on  the  edge  of  the  stage,  where  stood  the  piano  and  the 
fiddlers,  and  she  read — ^remarkably  well — ^a  poem  written  upon 
our  Queen's  death.     I  am  to  have  a  copy  of  it.     Yesterday 
before  I  arrived  there  was  rather  a  heavy  earthquake  here  :  the 
King  told  me  that  aU  the  candelabra  swung  about,  and  a  huge 
stone  figure  toppled  off  the  highest  point  of  one  of  the  great 
public  buildings. 

To-morrow  I  lunch  with  our  Ministers  and  dine  with  the 
Prime  Minister.  I  am  to  be  taken  over  one  of  the  eighteen 
detached  forts  which  surround  the  city. 

I  was  told  of  a  curious  Guild  here  amongst  well-bom  girls — 
partly  social,  partly  reHgious.  One,  a  very  remarkable  member 
of  the  Guild,  is  a  great  dancer  of  some  Hungarian  dance — I 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  393 

fancy  it  is  somewhat  risque— if  I  may  apply  such  a  word  to  a 
dance.  The  legs  are  very  freely  thrown  about.  The  lady  rests 
her  hands  on  the  man's  shoulders  and  he  rests  his  upon  the 
girl's  hips.  This  particular  girl  dances  without  stays,  and 
having  a  very  good  figure  cuts  out  all  others.  The  dance  is 
such  hard  work  that  both  men  and  women  who  perform 
perspire  very  freely,  and  often  have  to  stop  to  mop  their 
faces. 

In  the  Train  ejv  route  from 

Bucharest  to  Budapest, 

3/4/1901. 

A  dreadful  drawback  to  so  many  people  here  is  their  breath,  Lofd 
which  smells  of  onions  dished  up  with  a  strong  flavour  of  stale  °  ^^' 
tobacco  smoke.  I  have  suffered  several  times  when  talking 
to  them;  a  Minister's  wife  with  a  tiara  and  a  necklace  of 
great  diamonds,  whom  I  took  in  to  dinner  last  night,  was  one 
of  them,  and  the  General  who  took  me  round  the  military 
engineering  school  yesterday  was  terrible.  The  King  said 
that  he  had  wished  to  confer  his  highest  military  Order  upon 
me,  but  could  not  because  of  our  King's  commands.  Both 
he  and  the  Queen  pressed  me  to  pay  them  a  visit  again, 
particularly  when  they  are  at  their  summer  residence,  Sinai, 
in  the  mountains.  When  I  took  leave  of  the  King  this 
evening  he  pressed  my  hand  with  both  of  his,  and  walked 
through  his  large  room  holding  my  hand  very  hard,  and  said 
when  parting  that  he  hoped  you  would  come  with  me.  I  have 
promised  to  send  her  a  copy  of  my  book  on  Marlborough  and 
the  History  of  Prince  Rupert.  Please  ask  Macmillan  to  have 
these  well  bound. 

Tell  Frances  that  the  Edinburgh  Princess  is  most  popular 
with  all  classes  here  ;  they  are  all  devoted  to  her.  She  is  said 
to  be  the  most  beautiful  rider,  and  paints  admirably.  I  went 
all  over  her  palace  to-day,  and  hked  it — ^for  a  foreign  palace — 
very  much.  Her  husband,  the  heir  presumptive,  is  not  so 
attractive.  She  sent  me  many  messages  of  how  sorry  she  was 
not  to  be  in  Bucharest  now,  and  has  told  people  that  she 
used  to  play  with  Frances  when  they  were  children. 

I  should  like  to  send  King  Charles  a  copy  of  my  little  book 
on  Napoleon;  he  is  a  soldier  every  inch  and  would  perhaps 


394  THE  LETTERS  OF 

like  to  read  my  views  upon  Napoleon's  state  of  health  having 
destroyed  his  plans. 

Grand  Hotel,  Belgrade, 
6th  April  1901. 

w^rll  ^^  arrived  early  yesterday  and  were  conducted  to  this 

o  se  ey.  j^^^^j^     -^^  could  not  be  lodged  in  the  palace,  as  King  Milan 
had  sold  all  the  furniture  in  the  rooms  intended  for  visitors. 

This  must  be  a  horrible  place  for  an  Englishman  to  live  in. 
The  people  seem  to  me  to  be  all  of  one  class,  and  a  very  un- 
educated and  common  one.  When  I  bid  the  King  good-bye 
to-day  after  my  Audience,  the  Queen  sent  to  say  she  wished  to 
see  me.  There  are  two  palaces  here,  side  by  side — one  an  old 
one  in  which  the  King  and  Queen  live,  the  other  a  modern 
hideosity  in  which  all  the  Court  functions  come  off.  The 
Queen's  rooms  seemed  nice,  made  and  furnished  for  comfort, 
not  for  show.  She  expects  her  confinement  in  about  a  fortnight, 
and  consequently  her  figure  was  not  that  of  a  young  girl.  She 
must  have  been  good  looking  when  she  was  young  and  well, 
but  now  she  looks  old  and  much  drawn  about  the  face.  She 
spoke  French  in  a  way  that  made  me  feel  she  had  carefully 
studied  the  banalities  she  uttered  about  "  the  warrior  of  whom 
she  had  often  heard  and  read  so  much,"  etc.  She  regretted 
that  her  state  of  health  would  not  allow  her  to  see  me  at  dinner, 
etc.  She  has  had  une  vie  orageuse  and  was  caught  by  the 
King's  mother  under  somewhat  compromising  circumstances, 
and  dismissed  summarily  by  her  from  her  service  as  Lady-in- 
Waiting.  Since  then  the  King  first  presented  her  with  a  house 
and  then  announced  that  he  meant  to  marry  her.  This  he  did, 
and  her  present  figure  is  the  result.  There  was  a  serious  row 
about  the  marriage,  and  rumour  says  that  both  he  and  she 
are  afraid  to  drive  out  or  leave  their  palace  since  it  came  off. 
The  people  are  said  to  detest  her.  We  drove  in  State  carriages 
to  my  reception  and  to  the  palace  dinners — ^the  roads  would 
jolt  any  false  teeth  out  of  one's  head.  There  are  no  drains  of  any 
sort  in  the  town.  Cesspits  are  under  or  around  or  behind  every 
house.  You  can  imagine  what  the  smells  must  be  and  how  un- 
healthy the  town  where  such  a  condition  of  things  exists.  They 
talk  much  of  soon  beginning  **  une  systeme  de  la  canalization," 
but  if  they  are  run  through  the  cesspits,  the  plague  or  the 
cholera  will,  without  doubt,  decimate  the  population.     Thank 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  395 

Heaven  we  are  in  a  newly  built  hotel  which  is  clean  and  fitted 
with  modern  improvements.  I  am  warned  by  our  people 
here  to  say  nothing  in  my  letters  about  the  King  or  his  wife, 
for  if  I  post  them  in  Servia  they  will  be  opened  and  read.  This 
is  a  common  Royal  practice  at  this  curious  Court.  I  shall 
avoid  this  difficulty  by  leaving  them  here  at  the  British  Minister's 
for  the  Foreign  Office  bag  that  leaves  this  next  Thursday,  the 
nth,  so  you  will  not  get  this  until  the  i6th  instant.  If  I  find 
I  can  gain  some  time  by  taking  them  with  me  across  the  frontier 
into  Turkey,  I  may  do  so. 

You  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  "  Carmen  Sylva."  She 
lives  at  a  pressure  that  must  be  killing.  It  is  a  question,  I 
should  say,  when  the  sword  will  wear  out  the  scabbard. 

Pera  Palace,  Constantinople, 
gth  April  1901. 

This  hotel,  in  which  we  are  the  Sultan's  guests,  is  quite  new  Lord 
and  clean,  and  stands  on  high  ground.  The  Sultan,  by  the  way,  ^^^^^^V' 
has  recently  tricked  the  Russians  well.  When  the  peace  was 
made  after  the  last  war,  the  Russians  had  stipulated  in  the 
Treaty  that  until  the  whole  of  the  indemnity  was  paid  to  them 
by  the  Turkish  Empire,  no  Turkish  warship  was  to  be  built. 
As  the  Russians  knew  that  the  indemnity  would  never  be  paid 
in  Mo,  they  thought  they  had  permanently  secured  themselves 
against  a  hostile  Turkish  fleet  in  these  waters.  But  the  Turks 
have  paid  them  off  in  their  own  coin,  for  they  have  sent  their 
fleet  to  Italy  to  be  ''repaired,"  the  orders  being  really  to  re- 
build each  ship  from  its  keel  upwards.  Sharp  practice ;  but 
they  are  only  playing  the  Russians  at  their  own  game. 

I  hope  good  British  ambassadors  will  be  appointed  here  ; 
it  seems  to  me  we  have  dropped  down  to  a  very  low  level  of  men 
in  our  Diplomatic  Service. 

And  this  fine  Turkish  race  may  soon  cease  to  belong  to  a 
settled  State,  as  it  has  ceased  to  be  a  conquering  power.  I 
am  deeply  sorry,  for  it  was  a  race  of  brave  men,  strangled  by 
ignorant  and  stupid  rulers. 

But  hang  all  such  questions.  I  feel  a  selfish  brute  to 
abandon  you  to  the  worries  of  domestic  life  on  small  means, 
when  I  wander  about  as  a  special  Ambassador. 

I  have  just  come  back  from  dining  at  our  Embassy.     The 


396  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Austrian  Ambassador  was  there,  so  I  did  not  take  Lady  O'Connor 
in  to  dinner,  but  sat  beside  her.  I  took  in  Mrs.  James,  daughter 
of  Charley  Forbes,  who  married  a  beautiful  Miss  Moncreiffe.  Her 
husband  is  one  of  those  three  brothers  who  lived  in  Great 
Stanhope  Street.  She  is  a  very  pleasant  little  woman,  and  gave 
me  a  little  hint  about  our  hostess.  To-morrow  I  have  a  very 
full  day,  and  wind  up  by  dining  with  the  Sultan.  I  am  already 
tired  of  feasting  with  Crowned  Heads,  but  after  to-morrow  I 
have  only  the  Danish  King  of  Greece  to  address. 

Pera  Palace,  Constantinople, 
loth  April  igoi. 

Lord  At  a  quarter  to  six  I  had  to  be  at  the  palace.     I  in  a  sump- 

^  ^^'  tuous  open  carriage  of  the  Sultan's,  four  horses,  and  a  magnifi- 
cently dressed  coachman  ;  outriders  and  a  detachment  of  Lancers 
in  front  and  in  rear,  and  A.D.C.'s  riding  beside  the  carriage.  I 
called  for  our  Ambassador,  and  we  had  the  Turkish  General, 
who  is  told  off  to  look  after  me,  in  the  carriage  :  my  party 
followed  in  other  carriages.  Inside  the  walls  of  the  park  round 
the  palace  there  were  guards  everywhere,  and  sentries  by  the 
dozen.  The  poor  little  man  lives  in  dread  of  assassination, 
and  never  goes  outside  his  grounds.  Guards  of  Honour  awaited 
the  British  Sovereign's  representative  at  the  steps  of  the  palace. 
I  was  ushered  in  through  long  corridors  and  gaudily  furnished 
drawing-rooms,  each  and  all  ablaze  with  Ministers  and  A.D.C.'s 
in  rich  uniforms  and  covered  with  decorations. 

I  had  an  audience  of  the  Sultan,  and  handed  him  my  letter 
from  our  King.  O'Connor  made  a  little  speech  in  Irish-French 
and  submitted  his  new  credentials  from  our  new  Sovereign  to 
the  Sultan,  then  proceeded  to  the  room  where  I  had  left  my  suite, 
when  I  presented  them  to  him.  After  he  had  presented  all  his 
Ministers  to  me,  mostly  great  pashas  who  seemed  hot  and  un- 
comfortable in  their  gold-covered  clothes,  he  led  the  way  to  a 
large  dining-room.  The  Sultan  sat  at  one  end  of  the  table,  with 
O'Connor  on  his  right,  your  servant  on  his  left.  The  men  who 
waited  were  mostly  fat,  aU  clothed  in  red  frock-coats  buttoned 
across  and  a  mass  of  gold  embroidery.  The  Grand  Chamberlain 
stood  behind  the  Sultan,  and  acted  as  interpreter  throughout 
the  dinner.  He  only  spoke  French.  Each  time  the  Sultan 
spoke  to  him,  he  bowed  like  a  slave  and  touched  his  forehead, 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  397 

then  the  place  where  he  supposed  his  heart  to  be,  and  then 
made  a  motion  with  his  hand  towards  the  floor  as  if  he  was 
taking  up  the  dust  to  cover  his  head  with  when  presuming  to 
speak  to  the  great  Padishah  of  all  the  world.  I  had  to  answer 
all  sorts  of  questions  about  my  suite.  Castlereagh  being  "  a 
Lord,"  and  in  such  an  inferior  position,  puzzled  him.  Then  I 
was  asked  if  I  were  married,  and  had  children.  I  told  him  of 
Frances  and  of  you.  He  said  he  had  two  Httle  daughters,  two 
others  being  married,  and  that  he  was  very  fond  of  them.  I 
told  him  Frances  was  fond  of  hunting.  He  asked  if  she  had 
to  jump  fences  :  was  it  not  very  dangerous  ?  was  I  not  very 
anxious  for  her  safety  ?  After  dinner  the  Sultan  went  into  a 
long  salon,  on  one  side  of  which,  in  a  line,  were  my  suite  and  the 
English  interpreter,  and  down  the  other  side  all  the  Ministers. 
He  took  leave  of  the  English,  shook  hands  again  with  me, 
and  retired.  In  a  few  minutes  the  Grand  Chamberlain  ap- 
peared with  a  large  box  covered  with  green  velvet  and  handed 
it  to  me  from  the  Sultan  as  their  highest  Order  in  diamonds. 
So  now  you  have  a  large  star  in  diamonds  set  clear  in  gold,  the 
centre  of  the  star  being  enamel.  None  of  the  stones  are  very 
large,  but  it  is  a  handsome,  and  with  your  ingenuity  can 
be  converted  into  an  imposing,  ornament. 


Pera  Palace,  Constantinople, 
12th  April  1 90 1. 

When  I  bade  the  Sultan  good-bye  this  evening,  after  the  Lord 
little  opera  at  the  palace,  he  presented  me  with  a  very  ^  *^ 
handsome  gold  cigarette-box,  beautifully  decorated  and  highly 
jewelled.  There  is  really  one  very  fine  diamond  in  it,  which 
is  your  share  of  the  spoil.  Then  he  gave  me  the  first- 
class  of  the  Chefakkat  Order  for  you,  and  the  second-class  for 
Frances,  both  beautifully  enamelled  and  made  up  of  diamonds, 
rubies,  and  emeralds.  I  beUeve  our  King  will  give  both  of 
you  the  right  to  wear  it,  so  I  congratulate  you  both  upon 
being  "decorated."  It  is  an  Order  that  is  only  given  to  ladies, 
and  few  get  it.  Frances'  is  formed  into  a  bow,  from  which 
the  Order  hangs  thus  :  (Sketch).  You  have  a  broad  ribbon 
going  over  your  shoulder,  with  the  central  part  of  this  picture 
hanging  to  the  end  of  it,  and  then  you  have  a  handsome 
star  with  good  diamonds  set  clear  in  it,  and  many  rubies  and 


398  THE  LETTERS  OF 

emeralds.     I  am  so  glad  that  I  am  to  take  back  these  pretty 

things  to  you. 

On  Sunday  I  leave  in  the  Embassy  yacht  for  Broussa, 
Troy,  Mount  Athos,  and  Athens,  and  then  join  Sir  D.  Currie  on 
board  the  lolaire,  either  there  or  at  Corinth. 

The  Palace,  Athens, 
2oth  April  190 1. 

Lord  To-day  at  11  a.m.  I  had  my  official  Audience  with  the  King. 

Woiseiey.  j  j^ade  an  "  appropriate  "  speech — ^in  Enghsh — ^as  the  King  and 
Queen  and  all  the  Princes  speak  that  unruly  tongue  easily  and 
well.  I  am  told  the  King  was  pleased  by  my  allusion  to  the 
friendship  which  our  King  entertained  for  him.  At  three  I 
went  to  see  Olympic  games  in  the  Stadium.  Of  course,  with 
the  brutal  instincts  of  an  Englishman  who  loves  boxing  and  see- 
ing men  take  punishment,  of  their  own  accord,  uncomplaining, 
I  was  most  interested  in  their  wresthng. 

I  lunched  with  Sir  Edwin  Egerton  and  his  Russian  wife.  Lady 
Egerton  is  a  great  workwoman  and  has  estabUshed  numerous 
schools  for  embroidery  and  lace  work  here  and  elsewhere.  I 
saw  some  very  fine  pieces  of  embroidery  in  her  house — one,  a 
great  piece  about  12  or  13  or  14  feet  high  by  at  least  6  feet  wide, 
was  beautiful :  it  was  almost  completely  covered  with  charming 
silk  work,  of  the  pomegranate  pattern.  I  should  like  to  own  it, 
but  I  thought  of  your  struggles  *'  to  make  both  ends  meet  " 
and  swallowed  my  desire.  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Crown  Prince, 
who  returned  my  visit  at  once,  putting  on  his  riband  of  the  Bath 
to  do  so.  How  particular  foreigners  are  in  all  these  little  matters 
about  which  we  take  so  little  trouble.  Sir  D.  and  Lady  Currie 
arrived  at  the  Piraeus  this  morning.  I  have  telegraphed  I  shall 
go  on  board  Tuesday,  for  I  dine  with  Foreign  Minister  on  Monday. 

Athens,  4  p.m.,  21/4/1901. 

Lord  I  have  just  been  received  by  the  King  and  Queen  to  pay  my 

Woiseiey.  respects  and  say  good-bye:  they  were  both  extremely  kind. 
The  King  said,  "  You  may  remember  amongst  the  gold  things 
brought  from  Troy  were  two  cups  of  Hector.  They  have  never 
been  copied,  but  /  have  been  allowed  to  have  one  copied,  and 
here  it  is,  and  I  wish  you  to  keep  it  as  a  souvenir  of  your  visit 
and  of  me." 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  399 

Castlereagh  and  I  lunched  with  the  Crown  Prince  and 
Princess  in  their  palace — ^not  long  built — and  both  were  proud 
to  tell  me  that  it  was  entirely  furnished  by  "  Maple."  I  dined 
with  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  and  sat  next  his  wife,  a 
stout  woman  with  intelligence  and  plenty  to  say.  A  large 
party  in  the  evening,  and  when  I  came  back  here,  the  King 
came  into  my  room  to  say  good-bye. 

I  have  had  a  very  pleasant  time  in  Athens,  and  altogether  my 
mission  has  been  interesting  and  amusing. 


Off  Corinth,  2^th  April  1901. 

The  rain  is  over,  but  the  wind  is  raw,  and  I  find  that  sitting  Lord 
in  a  cabin  on  deck  is  better  than  walking  for  exercise'  sake  along  ^°^^^^- 
a  wet  deck  with  a  dull  sky  overhead  and  a  cold  breeze  blowing. 
I  once  before  came  through  this  Canal  when  returning  from  the 
Crimea  with  Sir  John  Pender.  It  is  a  well-carried-out  work, 
begun  by  Nero,  and  finished  in  Queen  Victoria's  reign.  After 
Malta,  we  go  to  Ajaccio,  and  I  shall  see  the  room  in  which 
Napoleon  was  bom.  That  "scoundrel"  has  a  fascination  for 
me  which  I  feel  for  no  other  human  being  I  have  read  about, 
and  I  have  always  wanted  to  visit  his  birthplace,  which  was  to 
him  "  home." 


Villa  Franca,  11/5/1901. 

Well,  yesterday  at  Ajaccio.  I  saw  the  house  in  which  Lord 
Napoleon  was  bom.  You  tum  out  of  a  filthy  street  of  rattle-  ^°^'^- 
trap  old  houses  down  a  narrow  and  still  dirtier  passage  for  foot- 
passengers  only,  and  come  to  a  large  old  house  in  front  of 
which  is  a  tiny  little  plaz  with  some  bushes  in  it  :  this  is 
beyond  the  passage,  which  passage  separates  Napoleon's  house 
from  these  bushes.  The  hall  door  to  the  house  is  mean  looking, 
and  the  house  and  its  surroundings  look  dirty  and  degraded. 
Over  the  door  a  marble  tablet  states  that  Napoleon  was  born 
there,  15th  August  1769.  Of  course,  Hke  all  his  Hfe,  this  date 
is  false,  for  he  was  really  bom  there  the  previous  year.  He 
falsified  the  date,  not  for  the  purpose  of  making  himself  a 
year  younger,  but  to  make  himself  a  Frenchman  by  birth, 
as  Corsica  only  passed  to  the  French  in  1769. 


400  THE  LETTERS  OF 

ThK   ATHENiEUM,    PaLL   MALL,    S.W., 
28/6/19OI. 

Lord  I  have  just  sent  you  a  telegram  to  say,  "  Speech  good,  very 

°  ^^'  well  received."  I  did  really  speak  well  when  I  warmed  to  my 
subject — ^and  all  round  me  said  so,  even  those  whom  I  scarcely 
knew.  I  stood  directly  facing  Lord  Salisbury,  and  I  spoke 
chiefly  to  him.  I  was  well  received  on  rising,  and  when  I 
finished.  A  good  House,  and  the  interest  of  the  Debate 
turned,  I  believe,  upon  what  I  was  going  to  say.  Lord 
Salisbury  deigned  even  to  be  amused  when  I  described  the  con- 
dition of  the  Veteran  Corps  I  had  known,  I  did  not  say  where. 
In  enumerating  failures — ^with  reference  to  the  fact  that 
failures  were  to  be  met  with  in  all  professions — ^I  added  I  had 
known  one  S.  of  S.  for  War  who  was  a  failure.  I  spoke  imme- 
diately after  Lansdowne,  and  I  should  very  much  have  liked  to 
have  had  "  a  round  "  with  the  little  man.  Lord  Hampden  made 
a  good  speech,  and  spoke  with  much  ease.  I  dine  at  Gloucester 
House  on  the  6th  to  meet  the  King  and  Queen. 

S.Y.  "loLAiRE,"  AT  Sea  (Oban  to  Scalpa), 
26th  July  1901. 

Lord  The  Empress  Eugenie  with  a  large  party  came  into  Oban 


Wolstley 


in  a  yacht  on  Thursday  evening.  Yesterday,  as  we  were  going 
ashore,  the  Captain  of  her  yacht — a  large  steamer,  nearly  as 
large  as  this  one— came  on  board  with  a  message  that  the 
Empress  intended  to  come  on  board  here  with  all  her  party  about 
6  p.m.  to  see  the  lolaire.  It  might  have  been  better  for  one  of 
her  suite  to  have  written  a  note  and  asked  permission  to  do  so. 
My  first  impulse  was  to  bolt  on  shore  and  stay  there  until  after 
the  visit  had  come  to  an  end.  Poor  Lady  Currie  wa?  furious  : 
Sir  D.,  on  ye  other  hand,  was  delighted,  for  he  dearly  loves  the 
big  people  of  this  world.  However,  I  thought  he  did  not  like 
the  idea  of  my  desertion,  so  I  stayed.  Oh,  what  a  shock  to  see 
the  Empress !  She  who  was  so  beautiful,  so  commanding  in  mien, 
now  an  old,  old  woman  with  sunken  cheeks,  the  wreck  of  a  figure, 
and  eyebrows  touched  up  to  give  them  that  arched  appearance 
which  formerly  added  so  much  to  the  expression  and  beauty  of 
her  face.  It  made  me  sad  indeed  to  look  at  her.  What  a 
career  hers  has  been  !     If  she  had  the  boldness  to  put  on  paper 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  401 

all  the  events  of  her  life,  what  a  story  one  would  read !  But 
we  shall  never  have  it.  It  is  only  those  born  in  the  purple 
who  can  afford  to  tell  truths  about  their  origin,  early  years, 
and  associations,  and  the  genesis  of  their  greatness. 

Chillingham  Castle, 
Belford,  Northumberland,  3/8/1901. 

This  is  a  grand  old  castle  horridly  and  disgracefully  used  Lord 
for  nearly  a  century.  Sir  Andrew  Noble  has  three  daughters-  ^°^^^^'^y* 
in-law  here  :  one  very  good  looking.  There  are  charming 
pictures  by  Lely  and  others  of  his  time  ;  in  the  midst  of  them 
one  by  Sir  F.  Grant,  a  regular  Grant  picture,  like  a  hundred 
others  he  painted  in  frock-coats  and  trousers  "  fitting- well- 
over-the-boot,"  as  tailors  used  to  say  when  I  was  young. 
Fancy  a  full-length  picture  of  this  sort  with,  on  one  side,  a  fine 
portrait  of  that  monster  Judge  Jeffreys  in  his  robes,  and  hold- 
ing the  Lord  Chancellor's  bag,  and  on  the  other  a  picture  of 
Lord  Arlington  with  the  black  patch  over  the  bridge  of  his  nose. 


26 


igol 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

Farm  House,  1/2/1901. 

Lady  DEAREST,  —  By     the     II     o'clock    post     to-day    arrived, 

Woiseiey,  ^^j^jj-essed  to  you,  a  letter  of  invitation  for  you  and  me  to  St. 
George's  Chapel  ceremony  ^  to-morrow,  and  three  tickets  for  you, 
me,  and  F.  I  enclose  you  yours.  Ours  are  for  a  different  part 
of  the  Chapel,  of  course.  I  see  that  a  "  letter  of  invitation  " 
gives  one  facilities  for  better  trains  than  if  one  has  a  ticket  only, 
so  /  have  kept  the  letter  of  invitation  for  us,  as  with  your  Gold 
Stick  you  will  be  allowed  into  any  train.  Perhaps  we  might 
manage  to  get  back  to  London  from  Windsor  together  ?  We 
are  not  bidden  to  any  luncheon  or  meal  there.  I  have  tele- 
graphed to  Earl  Marshall  acknowledging  receipt  of  invitations. 
I  have  telegraphed  to  the  Ladies  to  ask  them  to  take  us  in.  We 
go  up  to-night  by  latest  train,  arriving  in  town  about  ten  o'clock, 
as  we  need  a  little  time  to  crape  ourselves  up,  and  the  maids  here 
will  have  time  to  do  it,  if  we  don't  hurry  off  too  early. 

If  you  are  not  able  to  communicate  with  us  at  Windsor* 
as  you  very  Hkely  may  not  be  able  to  do,  as  you  will  be  "  Gold 
Sticking,"  we  shall  manage  to  get  back  to  town  by  the  best  train 
we  can.  We  shall  try  to  see  the  procession  from  Glenesk's 
house  too,  but  if  our  doing  so  makes  our  getting  to  Windsor 
risky,  we  shall  not  go  to  Glenesk,  as  the  great  thing  is  to  get  to 
Windsor. 

Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
12/3/1901. 

Lady  DEAREST, — I  think  it  rather  remarkable  that  in  the  Times 

WoiseUy.  j^Q^j^es  of  "  Imperial  Parliament  "  they  never  put  in  that  Lord 

^  The  funeral  of  Queen  Victoria. 

402 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY    403 

Northbrook  had  asked  for  that  paper.  It  was  in  ihe]Morning  Post, 
and  Lord  L.'s  vague  answer:  "The  paper  is  in  existence  and  I 
imagine  (what  strange  expression  !)  will  be  presented  forthwith." 
I  tell  you  this,  as  if  you  do  not  see  the  Morning  Post  you  may  miss 
it.  I  also  see  that  you  have  come  in  for  a  reproachful  remark 
from  Brodrick  anent  the  Colvile  affair. 


Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
16/4/1901. 

Yesterday  three  delightful  letters.  To-day  yours  of  11/4  Lady 
from  Constantinople  with  an  account  of  your  diamonds  order  ^oiseUy. 
and  our  possible  decorations  !  /  shall  not  take  your  diamonds, 
though  I  know  you  offer  them  with  all  your  heart,  but  I  want 
you  to  be  smarter  than  paint,  as  you  will  be  in  them.  Your 
whole  account  of  Constantinople  and  the  Sultan  was  most 
interesting.  I  feel  how  absolutely  nothing  I  have  to  tell  you 
in  return. 

I  must  be  for  several  weeks  to  come  at  H.  Court,  so  do  not 
hurry  back.  Take  all  the  yachting  and  outing  you  can  get, 
and  then  when  you  return  my  mind  will  be  at  ease  to  hear  all 
your  impressions.  I  think  your  letters  most  charming.  I  let 
the  good  ladies  see  some  of  them,  and  they  are  more  in  love 
with  you  than  ever  ! 


Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
18/4/1901. 

My  Dearest, — Yesterday,  after  a  long  and  rather  tiring  tody 
day  in  town,  I  found  on  my  return  your  letter  with  the  ^oisciey. 
decoration  sketches  and  details.  How  very  grand  I  shall  be  ! 
I  have  already  studied  our  Queen's  photo  to  see  how  she  wears  her 
ribbon !  My  first  Order,  however,  is  the  one  you  gave  me,  "  The 
Order  of  elderly  merit."  The  rubies,  emerald,  and  diamonds  are 
floating  before  our  eyes.  The  old  Sultan  has  been  a  brick !  I 
long  to  think  of  you  in  the  yacht,  with  all  stiff  uniform  off  and 
your  stays  \ !  off  too.  Do  not  come  back ;  I  have  heaps  to  do  before 
I  am  ready  for  you  !  I  am  sending  you  Morning  Post,  St.  James's, 
and  Westminster  of  yesterday  that  you  may  see  all  Roberts' 


404  THE  LETTERS  OF 

'*  commendations."  Poor  Red  vers !  What  will  he  do  now  ? 
Colonel  Ward  ^  gets  the  cream  of  the  praise.  I  suppose  poor 
T.  Coke,  if  he  gets  any  mention,  will  get  it  in  the  next 
volume. 

We  followed  your  triumphal  progress  with  greatest  interest. 
But  the  Duke  of  Abercom  ^  sent  much  longer  bulletins  than  you 
did.  The  papers  continue  to  refer  to  the  Lansdowne-Wolseley 
affair,  and  with  rare  exceptions  they  are  in  your  favour. 


Hampton  Court  Palace,  6/5/igoi. 

Lady  On  Wednesday  next — day  after  to-morrow — 8th  April,  I 

Woiseiey.  move  into  our  Httle  "  Upper  part,"  18  Lower  Seymour  Street, 
and  hope  that  it  will  be  fairly  comfortable — I  will  not  say 
pretty — ^by  the  time  you  arrive.  You  can  come  straight  there, 
and  you  will  find  George  to  unpack  your  things  and  look  after 
you.  If  you  are  not  in  a  hurry  to  get  back  to  Glynde  we  might 
stay  in  town  together,  see  some  plays,  and  go  to  "  Hever," 
and  perhaps  Mr.  Gamer's  house  near  Oxford.  It  will  be  a 
nice  little  English  honeymoon,  and  you  will  like  that  better 
than  a  French  one.  I  am  reading  Bismarck's  letters  to  his  wife. 
They  are  very,  very  interesting,  though  almost  entirely  domestic. 
They  remind  me  of  you.  I  reaUy  think  I  am  more  useful  to 
you  than  she  was  to  him.  She  seemed  very  whiny,  and  he  had 
to  make  the  moves  and  pick  out  the  furniture. 

The  excellent  Synge  sent  the  box  down  here,  so  I  had  a 
great  unpacking.  It  was  a  regret  to  me  that  we  did  not  unpack 
together.  The  things  are  really  beautiful.  Scrumptious ! 
The  Orders  are  lovely.  Your  Star  very  fine  !  The  gold  cup 
handsome  and  interesting.     /  enjoyed  it  all. 

I  showed  your  rugs  to  Turberville,  Smith's  man,  and  he 
said  they  were  very  good,  one  especially  so.  They  will  be  a 
great  help.  "  Carmen  Sylva's  "  embroidery  I  tried  on  the 
piano  and  it  looks  well.  Do  not  expect  to  find  me  advanced 
here.  There  are  still  many  hindrances,  floors  not  done,  etc. 
I  shan't  let  you  come  down  till  it  ^begins  to  shake  down. 
Then  you  must  come  and  hang  the  pictures,  and  how  we  shall 
quarrel  1 

1  Afterwards  Sir  E.  War,  Secretary,  Ward  Office. 

2  Special  Envoy  to  Courts  of  Sweden,  Denmark,  Russia,  and  Germany. 


\ 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


405 


18  Lower  Seymour  Street,  P.  Square, 
14/5/1901. 

Dearest, — Here  I  am  waiting  for  you  and  doing  my  little 
best  to  have  the  little  nest  comfortable.  I  shall  not  write 
you  more  than  this  Uttle  line  of  welcome  and  love  because  I  am 
so  busy.  Little  Fritz  is  better  and  giving  himself  invalid  airs 
and  graces  munching  marrow  bones. 

Mind  you  wire  me  your  hour  of  arrival.  You  are  to  dine  with 
the  King  on  24th  May  ;  all  your  uniform  is  here. 


Lady 

Wolseley. 


18  Lower  Seymour  Street,  15/5/1901. 

I  am  trying  to  think  of  you  in  Paris  !  I  wish  we  could 
have  been  there  together.  Go  if  you  can,  in  your  one  day,  to  the 
"  Mus^e  Cama valet."  It  is  in  the  old  part  of  Paris,  which  you 
will  like,  and  the  house  was  Madame  de  S^vign^'s  house,  and 
you  will  see  her  bedroom  !  The  Mus^e  contains  most  interesting 
things.  See  the  room  of  revolutionary  relics.  The  bonnet 
rouge  in  every  variety  of  device  is  most  interesting.  You 
will  like  it  better  than  Louvre  or  Cluny.     It  is  more  living. 


Lady 

Wolseley. 


Hampton  Court  Palace,  31/5/1901. 

I  would  rather  you  did  not  ask  anyone  to  stay  at  18  L.  Seymour 
Street,  whether  we  are  there,  or  whether  we  are  not  there,  as  I 
must  menager  the  nice  housemaid  there  or  I  shall  lose  her. 
With  one  servant  one  has  to  consider  numbers.  Get  the  footman 
to  pack  up  all  you  want  for  London,  but  do  not  take  him  to 
town.  Give  Dorcas  your  keys  and  let  her  unpack,  then  she  will 
know  what  things  you  have  and  be  better  able  to  valet  you. 
Do  not  unpack  yourself .     It  will  only  puzzle  her  and  trouble  you. 


Lady 
Wolseley. 


Hampton  Court  Palace,  Middlesex, 
28/6/1901. 

I  return  the  document  of  deed  of  gift.  Its  jargon  appears  to 
me  most  inclusive  and  comprehensive.  Dearest  little  thing,  how 
kind  you  are  to  think  out  all  this  for  me  !  I  died  laughing  over 
the  great  Farrar's  legal  fear  that  I  should  refuse  to  lend  you  your 
uniform  !     I  will  refuse  if  there  is  a  war.     Please  add,  '*  and 


Lady 
Wolseley. 


4o6  THE  LETTERS  OF 

all  future  khaki  uniform  made  for  F.M.  Viscount  W.  to  belong 
absolutely  to  Louisa  Viscountess  W.  and  be  under  her  control  " 
you  may  dress  yourself  up  in  khaki  and  defy  me. 


Hampton  Court  Palace, 
Monday,  29/7/1901. 

Lady  I  am  back  again  amongst  my  numerous  household  gods  1 

Woisciey.  yjQigi  Paget  is  here,  nicer  than  ever — one  could  not  have  a  less 

requiring  guest  in  a  disorganised,  or  rather  wnorganised  house. 

The  "  ancestor  "  has  returned.     He  looks  very  fine,  perhaps  a 

little  too  varnished,  but  you  will  see. 

Violet  Paget  ^  read  us  a  charming  little  essay  she  has  written 
called  "  Silence,"  but  the  subject  really  was  Friendship.  Tell 
Lady  C.  of  her  books,  Eighteenth-Century  Studies  in  Italy, 
Juvenilia,  Limbo,  Genius  Loci,  etc.  Also  Countess  of  Albany. 
I  am  sure  she  would  like  them.  I  am  writing  to  thank  Sir 
D.  C.  for  the  little  tazza.  It  is  so  pretty.  I  am  longing  to  hear 
about  "Eugenie."  There  is  still  a  great  glamour  round  her 
for  me. 

I  am  sure  the  enclosed  is  a  letter  from  the  King  !  and  I  am 
devoured  by  curiosity,  but  do  not  dare  open  ! 

I  sit  out  sometimes  with  the  dogs  and  read  a  French  book 
under  the  trees,  just  as  you  would  like  me  to.  I  hope  you  are 
happy  and  not  bored. 


18  Lower  Seymour  Street, 
11/12/1901. 

Lady  I  shall  go  at   one  o'clock  to  S.K.  Museum  (now  called 

Woisiiey.   "  Victoria  and  Albert  ")  to  see  our  Sheffield.     If  your  Board 
permits,  join  me  there. 

I  went  to  the  Last  of  the  Dandies  this  afternoon  and 
was  bored  to  death.  Thank  Heaven  it  is  the  last  of  them ! 
Tree,  who  is  an  artist,  was  wasted,  and  beyond  his  posing 
pompously  in  exaggerated  coats  and  tight  pantaloons — as  in- 
decent as  the  costumes  of  the  fashionable  ladies  of  to-day — 
there  was  not  a  feature  in  the  play. 

1  A  well-known  Authoress  who  writes  under  the  name  of  "  Vernon 
Lee/' 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  407 

Seymour  Street, 

i$th  December  1901. 

What  pens !     What   a   dreadful  thing    a    man's   writing-     Lady 

table  is  I  Wolseley. 

I  am  up  to  see  odd  men.  Perhaps  none  will  come,  and  I 
write  you  a  hne  while  I  wait.  I  hope  you  liked  Lansdowne 
as  the  '*  White  Knight  '*  in  the  Westminster.  I  thought  it 
delightful.  Have  you  heard  anything  more  of  Lord  Roberts' 
arrival  ? 


I 902-1903 

CHAPTER   XXXIV 

Apethorpe  Hall,  Wansford, 
Monday,  22nd  September  1902. 

Lord  Mrs.   Lawrence  took  me  to  pay  Lady  Cardigan  a  visit  ; 

oseey.  ^j^^^  ^^^  woman  called  on  Saturday,  so  this  was  the  return 
call.  The  painted  relic  of  past  scandals  lives  in  a  most  charming 
house.  The  oldest  part,  she  said,  was  of  the  eleventh  century, 
so  it  is  very  much  older  than  Apethorpe.  It  has  one  four-sided 
courtyard,  very  much  smaller  than  the  court  here  ;  and  no 
gallery.  Lady  Cardigan  has  added  on  a  great  ballroom,  the 
windows  of  which — but  not  the  ceiling  or  roof — are  in  keeping 
with  the  old  portion  of  the  house.  It  lacks  the  stateliness  of 
Apethorpe,  but  it  has  great  charms.  It  is  close  to  the  ruins  of 
Kirby  Hall,  but  on  the  other  side  of  the  road,  and  she  showed 
me  a  door  in  her  house  which  led  down,  she  said,  to  a  sub- 
terranean passage  that  led  to  Kirby  Hall.  She  also  assured 
me  that  her  husband,  Cardigan,  when  a  boy,  had  dined  in 
Kirby  Hall,  whose  owner  was  the  bosom  friend  of  his  father's — 
I  think  she  said  his  father.  That  surprised  me,  for  Kirby  Hall, 
I  should  have  said,  cannot  have  been  inhabited  for  a  century. 


Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
15/7/1902. 

Lady  It  is  tropically  hot,  but  I  can,  with  management,  keep  the 


Wolseley. 


little  house  fairly  cool.  I  went  yesterday  to  luncheon  with 
the  Pearsons  ^  in  their  grand  chateau  at  Paddockhurst.  A  tire- 
some little  journey.     Change  at  Lewes,  change  at  Haywards 

*  Sir  W.  Pearson,  afterwards  Lord  Cowdray. 
408 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY       409 

Heath,  and  then  arrive  at  Three  Bridges.  A  big  brake  waiting 
for  my  Httle  solitary  person — so  difficult  to  know  which  comer 
to  sit  in,  but  finally  I  anchored  myself  behind  the  coachman. 
The  three  miles'  drive  is  lovely.  Roads  with  wide  margins 
of  lush  grass,  and  ferns,  and  then  big  trees  and  depths 
of  cool  shade.  The  house  sumptuous — a  marble  dining- 
room,  gold  plate,  peaches,  grapes,  a  "  winter  garden,"  alias  a 
rather  ugly  long  railway  station,  conservatory,  little  cabin- 
like passages  everywhere.  Then  the  principal  rooms,  full  of 
(valuable)  Boule  and  Louis-Seize  furniture.  Then  Empire 
rooms,  some  oak  cabinets,  not  quite  new,  I  think.  The  house 
has  not  quite  had  a  fair  chance.  Oh,  I  forgot  the  library, 
with  1000  or  10,000 — I  forget  which — ^books,  all  chosen  by 
some  one  else,  and  never  touched  since,  I  should  say  !  Their 
desolate  tidiness  and  regularity  was  the  most  chilling  thing  I 
have  ever  seen.     But  the  Pearsons  themselves  I  like  very  much. 

The  Coronation  is  fixed  for  9th  August.  I  have  inquired 
if  you  will  be  required  in  London  before  that  date  to  rehearse 
again,  also  if  you  will  be  Gold  Stick  for  any  part  of  August. 
I  will  let  you  know  what  I  hear.  I  wrote  to  Lord  Binning  ^ 
about  the  Gold  Stick  business,  "  as  you  were  away  yachting." 

I  think  you  make  too  much  of  your  memory  being  bad.  I 
think  it  wonderfully  good,  except  for  names  and  for  what  doesn't 
interest  you.  But  you  never  give  it  any  rest  or  let  it  lie  fallow, 
and  I  think  it  is  suffering  from  long  overstrain.  If  you  will  let 
it  forget  and  not  worry  it,  it  will  right  itself.  You  want  much 
more  sleep  than  you  give  yourself.  This  is  what  the  oracle 
thinks  and  says. 

Anyhow,  don't  forget  me.  I  will  tell  you  all  I  hear  about 
Gold  Stick  and  Third  Sword.  I  have  seen  your  new  mare  and 
think  her  very  good  looking.  Her  attendant  said,  "She  will 
make  a  splendid  *orse  later  on."  I  tried  to  look  very  knowing, 
and  remarked  she  was  rather  "  tucked  up,"  which  was  quite  a 
success. 

Hampton  Court  Palace,  Middlesex, 
3/9/1902. 

I  wonder  how  you  are  getting  on  ?  rJ-^^ 

I  went  to  the  S.K.  Museum  and  there  found  a  Virginal      ^  **^* 
the  almost  exact  counterpart  of  the  one  I  saw.     It  was  by 
*  Then  commanding  Royal  Horse  Guards. 


410  THE  LETTERS  OF 

"  John  Loosemore,  1655."  Mine,  by  "  Adam  Leversidge, 
1666."  It  was  exactly  the  same  in  shape  and  size,  and  the 
quahty  of  the  painting  inside  was,  if  anything,  coarser  than 
mine.  Keys,  notes,  decoration,  exactly  alike.  Stand  very 
much  the  same,  rather  plainer  and  rougher.  The  Museum  gave 
£52,  los.  for  theirs  in  1873,  so  allowing  for  rise  in  value  in  thirty 
years,  the  woman  is  not  so  exorbitant  in  asking  ;fi20 — ^but  I 
^  doubt  her  getting  it,  as  the  public  for  such  a  piece  is  small.     It 

was  very  interesting  to  see  their  Virginal.  I  asked  one  of  the 
curators  if  they  were  often  offered  for  sale,  and  he  said  very 
seldom  now.  If  you  go  to  town  one  day  while  I  am  here,  I 
could  go  up  and  meet  you,  and  show  it  to  you.  You  could  also 
see  Pierpont  M.'s  £100,000  tapestry.  Think  of  it  if  you  have 
to  go  to  town. 

17 A  South  Audley  Street,  W., 
yth  January  1903. 

j^^gf  I  have  usually  set  out  upon  a  j oumey  or  a  * '  trip ' '  with  pleasur- 

able feelings  ;  but  none  come  to  me  as  I  contemplate  this  cruise. 
I  believe  the  air  at  Glynde  to  be  far  healthier  than  anything 
to  be  found  in  the  Mediterranean.  However,  if  I  find  my 
existence  a  real  trial  I  will  return  home.  Life  at  sixty-nine 
and  a  half  is  too  uncertain  to  play  tricks  with  the  days  of 
health  accorded  to  us.  Edward  Bulwer  and  one  of  his  daughters 
— I  never  know  one  from  the  other — and  Biddulph  ^  and  a  new 
young  daughter  dined  here  last  night — ^what  a  dreadfully  dull 
evening  it  must  have  been  for  the  two  girls  to  sit  and  listen 
(confound  the  pen,  it  is  nearly  as  bad  as  my  speUing)  to  four 
aged  gentlemen  tell  old  stories  and  laugh  at  events  that  took 
place  long  before  the  poor  girls  were  even  thought  of.  The 
young  Biddulph  girl  is  a  new  one  that  I  have  never  seen 
before — she  is  fresh-looking  and  reminded  me  in  appearance 
and  manner  of  the  Puritan  girls  described  in  so  many  of  our 
old-fashioned  novels. 

The  '*  loLAiRE,"  Genoa, 
14/1/1903. 

Lord  I  Spent  yesterday  here  ashore  with  all  the  party.     I  thought 

Woiseley,  ^^  ^j^^  p^^^y  -^^  which  the  hero  introduced  his  party  by  "  voici 

1  Sir|]Robert  Biddulph. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  411 

mes  noces  en  six  fiacres  !  "  I  hate  travelling  about  with  a 
large  party,  and  consequently  saw  very  little  of  what  I  wished 
to  look  at.  The  Titania  is  our  neighbour;  at  present  she 
flies  the  Belgian  flag,  but  is  hired  by  a  Yankee  who  lives  on 
board  of  her.  He  asked  to  see  Sir  Donald  yesterday,  and  told 
him  a  piteous  story,  winding  up  by  asking  him  to  lend  him 
£500  !  I  hke  Mr.  Abbott,  the  Secretary — ^a  highly  educated  man, 
only  he  goes  to  sleep  after  meals  in  a  deck-chair  with  his  thumb 
in  his  mouth — I  think  to  prevent  apoplexy.  Ritchie  is  on  board. 
He  is  very  outspoken  for  a  Cabinet  Minister — rough  in  manner, 
and  in  every  sense  an  intelligent  man  rf  the  middle  class. 

S.Y.    '*  lOLAIRE,"    MAKING    FOR    NAPLES, 

At  sea,  16/1/1903. 

A  very  pleasant  day  yesterday  at   Elba.    As  you  know,      Lord 
anything  connected  with  the  great  bad  man  has  an  absorbing  *''* 

interest  for  me,  an  interest  I  have  never  been  able  to  take  in 
the  history  of  any  one  else.  Some  accursed  Russian,  a  Prince 
Demidoff,  at  one  time  owned  the  house  in  which  Napoleon 
lived — some  2 J  or  3  miles  out  of  Ferrajo — and  spoilt  the  place 
by  adding  a  hideous  building  in  which  he  collected  every 
purchasable  reUc  of  the  great  soldier  ruler.  Those  rehcs  were 
removed,  and  only  the  building  remains  to  disfigure  the 
scene  and  detract  from  the  interest  that  clung  round  a  house 
and  garden  to  which  Bonaparte  had  been  exiled,  and  where  he 
planned  the  return  that  ended  in  Waterloo. 


SuDA  Bay,  Crete, 
30/A  January  1903. 

We  came  in  yesterday  evening  and  anchored  in  the  harbour  Lord 
of  Milo.  We  found  the  Russian  Mediterranean  Fleet  here  and  '^^^*^- 
saw  a  Greek  corvette  steam  out  to  sea  with  the  Queen  of  Greece 
on  board.  She  had  come  here  to  see  her  son.  Prince  George, 
who  is  a  sort  of  President  in  Crete.  The  French,  Italian,  and 
ourselves  still  have  troops  in  the  island,  so  I  do  not  imagine 
he  has  a  pleasant  billet  here.  Lideed,  when  I  met  him  in 
Athens  on  my  mission  he  was  never  weary  of  pitying  himself 
for  the  hardness  of  his  lot  amongst  all  the  powers  here.  I  was 
much  amused  with  Sir  Donald,  who  pretended  he  must  go  to 


412  THE  LETTERS  OF 

call  to-day  upon  the  Russian  Admiral ;  "of  course  you  will  come 
also,  Lord  Wolseley/'  he  added.  I  positively  refused,  telling 
him  that  on  principle  I  disliked  all  potentates,  and  never  went 
near  any  of  them  except  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Lady 
Currie  does  not  care  two  twopenny  damns  for  all  the  great 
people  in  the  world,  and  often  tries  to  restrain  Sir  Donald's 
hunger  for  the  society  of  big  people.  But  they  are  both  nice, 
dear  friends,  worth  all  the  *'  smart  society  "  we  have  ever 
known. 


Alexandria  Harbour,  S.Y.  "  Iolaire," 
4/2/1903. 

Lord  I  send  you  home  some  pages  for  my  Memoirs  ;  please  have 

them  typed  after  you  have  corrected  them  and  struck  out  any 
absurdities  that  may  strike  you.  Many  thanks  for  your  friend's 
letter  ;  I  am  very  glad  to  accept  his  comments,  for  although 
his  own  books — as  he  told  me— don't  sell,  his  advice  is  clear 
and  sensible.  I  think  that  I  may  conveniently  end  my  first 
volume  with  my  story  of  the  Ashantee  War,  after  which  I 
became  a  General  Officer.  The  transition  into  the  grade  of 
General  is  a  point  in  a  soldier's  career  that  will,  /  think,  make 
a  good  beginning  for  my  second  volume,  which  I  might  pubUsh 
a  year  after  the  first.  I  should  thus  make  most  money  for  you ; 
and  that  is  my  first  thought  now. 

If  I  had  been  brought  up  to  business,  I  should,  perhaps,  take 
business  views  of  life.  But  transactions  that  make  men  rich 
are  to  me  divided  by  a  thin  sheet  of  paper  from  the  cheating  which 
lands  less  fortunate  men  in  jail ;  your  "smart  man  "  in  trade  and 
the  pickpocket  may  well  go  to  the  same  hotel  in  the  next  world. 

Very  many  thanks  for  Pierre  Loti's  book  Jerusalem.  I  have 
only  as  yet  had  time  to  skim  through  it,  but  the  writing  is 
delightful.  I  felt  inclined  to  throw  all  my  sorry  MS.  overboard 
as  soon  as  I  had  read  a  few  pages — of  course  like  me — at  the 
end  of  his  volume.  When  will  an  Englishman  arise  who  com- 
bines, hke  Loti,  sparkling  imagination  and  deep  feeling ;  who 
will  be  able  to  fimd  words,  as  he  does,  at  once  to  elate  and  satisfy 
his  readers  ? 

We  are  to  start  to-morrow  morning  for  Cairo,  where  I  shall 
have  to  call  on  the  Khedive  and  officials  ;  I  don't  want  the 
trammels  of  society  duties  when  I  am  on  a  pleasure  outing. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  413 

Shepheard's  Hotel,  Cairo, 
^th  February  1903. 

Zohrab  met  me  at  the  railway  station,  and  drove  me  here  Lord 
in  a  nice  httle  carriage  with  a  pair  of  very  fast  httle  Arab  Woiseiey, 
horses.  He — ^hke  myself — ^has  grown  old,  but  is  now  quite 
well  again  and  has  given  up  tobacco.  I  attribute  his  recovery 
to  his  having  done  so,  for  he  used  to  smoke  to  excess.  I  have 
not  yet  seen  his  wife,  but  I  am  to  call  on  her  to-morrow. 
He  had  tea  with  the  Curries  here,  and  made  a  favourable 
impression. 

Your  extract  from  A.  L.'s  letter  is  the  same  as  he  told 
me  himself — ^I  cannot  understand  why  it  is  he  is  so  "  hot  " 
upon  the  Indian  Mutiny.  I  think  the  present  generation  is 
languid  about  it.  How  few  even  read  George  Trevelyan's 
Cawnpore  ?  I  think  Trevelyan's  wife  and  Lady  Currie  have 
much  in  common.  Both  excellent  and  clever  women,  both 
hard  as  flint  towards  themselves  and  the  world. 

Shepheard's  Hotel,  Cairo, 

8/2/1903. 

The  Khedive  gave  a  great  ball  on  the  night  of  our  arrival,  Lord 
but  I  begged  off.  The  Cromers  asked  us  to  dine  to-morrow,  but  ^oiseUy. 
I  cannot,  as  we  go  on  board  the  dahabeeyah  Sir  Donald  has  hired 
to  take  us  up  the  Nile.  I  dined  last  night  with  the  Reggy 
Talbots.  The  Portlands  were  there.  She  looked  extremely 
imposing,  like  Semiramis  I  should  say.  Mrs.  Reggy  has  become 
very  thin ;  her  grey  hair  suits  her  well.  She  played  exquisitely 
for  us  after  dinner.  I  took  in  a  Lady  M'Kenzie,  whom  I  did  not 
quite  identify.  Edgar  Vincent  has  become  very  grey  also.  I 
have  been  through  the  bazaars  ;  full  of  rubbish,  and  at  this 
season  the  vagabond  shopkeepers  ask  exorbitant  prices. 

Dahabeeyah  "  Osiris,"  nearing  **  Keneh," 
20th  February  1903. 

I  spare  you  travellers'  stories  of  a  country  in  which  you  take      Lord 
little  interest,  and  in  which,  I  confess,  I  cannot  muster  up  any  ^oiseiey, 
great  concern.    Their  useless  monuments  often  ruined  the  people 
of  the  land  by  the  corvee  their  construction   exacted.     The 
inscriptions  and  the  enumeration  of  uninteresting  dynasties 


414  THE  LETTERS  OF 

with  which  travellers  in  Egypt  fill  their  pompous  letters  have 
far  less  concern  for  me  than  the  pages  of  the  old  Parish  Register 
at  home.  Possibly  if  you  stayed  in  Egypt  you  might  come  to 
Hke  Eg5^tian  art,  and  to  take  an  interest  in  Cheops  and 
Rameses ;  I  never  could.  I  prefer  any  English  hero — even  Dick 
Turpin — to  Isis  or  Horns. 

S.Y.  "  lOLAIRE,"   BrINDISI, 

19/3/1903. 

Lord  I  have  to-day  gone  over  an  old  ruined  castle  in  which  every 

WoiseUy.  g^Qj^g  ^q\^  ^5  Qf  Barbarossa,  and  of  the  Spaniards  who  held  it  for 
centuries — ^beautiful  carvings  of  arms  with  many  quarterings 
over  its  great  gateways  and  little  boat  harbours.  We  were  taken 
over  much  of  it  by  a  hideous  old  woman  with  a  powdered  face, 
bad  teeth,  and  a  moustache  ;  and  afterwards  over  the  interior 
keep  by  a  remarkably  handsome  youth  in  the  Italian  Navy.  He 
was  very  affable,  but  positively  refused  to  take  the  five  francs  I 
pressed  upon  him.  Yesterday  I  spent  an  hour  in  a  very  old 
church,  formerly  attached  to  a  monastery.  There  was  a  curious 
picture  of  an  imaginary  group  at  the  Birth  of  Christ.  As  only 
married  women  were  admitted  in  the  fable,  a  young  girl  had 
borrowed  a  baby  to  appear  as  if  she  too  were  a  mother.  Seeing 
she  was  so  young,  the  other  women  challenged  her,  "  If  you  be 
a  mother,  suckle  your  bambino."  The  picture  showed  her  prof- 
fering her  breast  to  the  baby. 

I  have  reread  Jerusalem,  by  Loti.  It  does  not  stand  such 
an  ordeal.  Too  much  of  the  artist,  too  little  of  the  heart  about 
all  his  choice  morsels.  It  is  too  highly  polished,  too  epigram- 
matic for  the  world's  greatest  story.  But  it  is  worth  studying 
from  an  artistic  point  of  view.  The  man  Christ,  surely  apart 
from  His  Grodhead,  is  so  holy,  so  pure,  so  simple,  that  His 
portrait  must  be  photographed  as  He  is  and  was,  and  not 
redaubed  by  colours  from  an  artist's  palette,  no  matter  how  able 
the  painter  may  be. 

Vice-Regal  Lodge,  Dublin, 

Tuesday  Night,  21st  July  1903. 

Lord  '  At  9.30  this  morning  in  full  dress  I  proceeded  ^  in  a  Royal 

^  ^^^'  carriage  to  Westland  Row  Station,  and  with  a  number  of 
1  As  Gold  Stick  in  attendance  on  the  Sovereignj 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  415 

others  went  down  to  Kingstown.  It  had  rained  heavily  in 
the  early  morning,  but  had  cleared  and  was  a  fine  day  with 
the  sun  shining  brightly  when  the  King  and  Queen  and  their 
daughter  and  immediate  surroundings  came  ashore  in  a  large 
electric  launch.  They  were  very  well  received  and  both  were 
very  gracious  to  your  humble  servant  amongst  others.  We 
got  away  in  four  magnificent  open  carriages,  with  a  beautifully 
turned  out  escort  of  the  Blues  in  attendance.  From  there  until 
we  entered  this  park,  the  shouts  and  cheering  were  enthusiastic. 
'  I  must  tell  you  that  Miss  KnoUys  asked  much  after  you,  and 
wound  up  by  saying  that  the  Queen  Uked  you  extremely.  In 
conversation  with  Her  Majesty — I  sat  with  her  here  in  the 
drawing-room  all  this  evening  after  dinner — she  impressed  upon 
me  how  sorry  she  was  not  to  have  been  able  to  pay  you  a 
visit  ;  one  reason  why  she  was  prevented  was  that  the  motor 
in  which  she  had  meant  to  come  broke  down.  She  said  she 
was  very  sorry,  and  I  am  sure  she  meant  it. 

Very  early,  Wednesday  morning,  22nd  July. — ^The  house 
is  very  quiet.  I  left  the  drawing-room  last  night  as  soon  as 
the  Queen  went  to  bed.  The  King  and  a  selected  party  dis- 
appeared to  play  bridge  in  another  room.  I  am  to  have 
tea  at  "  The  Hospital  "  this  afternoon  to  see  the  changes 
they  have  made.  I  hear  they  have  enlarged  the  entrance  hall, 
which  must  be  an  improvement.  There  was  a  good  deal  of 
cheering  for  "  Wolseley  "  as  we  came  along  yesterday  ;  I  know 
this  will  interest  you,  so  I  mention  it.  The  Davidsons  want  me 
to  dine  this  evening,  but  I  can't  manage  it.  I  should  like  to  do 
so,  for  I  am  already  weary  of  Court  functions. 


Vice-Regal  Lodge,  Dublin, 

23/7/1903- 

I  have  never  had  a  chance  of  "  doing  "  a  curiosity  shop  'Lord 
since  I  came  here,  and  it  was  only  yesterday  afternoon  that  I  ^°^^^' 
got  away  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Davidsons.  He  was  out  on  duty 
and  I  waited  for  him,  so  had  only  just  time  to  get  back  here, 
and  once  more  into  my  boots — such  boots  !  And  off  to  dine 
with  the  Connaughts  at  the  Royal  Hospital.  They  have  made 
it  very  nice,  white  paint  being  the  order  of  the  day  there.  Both 
Duke  and  Duchess  very  kind  to  me.    The  Levee  yesterday  was 


4i6  THE  LETTERS  OF 

attended  by  over  1500,  and  I  thought  would  never  end. 
It  was  in  the  Throne  room  in  the  castle,  where  the  King  holds 
a  Court  to-night. 

Glynde,  11/10/1903. 

Lord  Frances  has  been  reading  to  me  Morley's  Life  of  Gladstone, 

°  ^^^'  and  enjoyed  it  as  much  as  I  did.     Morley  makes  his  hero  speak 

to  the  reader  all  through  the  book,  and  much  as  I  dislike  Mr. 

Gladstone's  record,  I  feel  carried  away  by  the  description  of  his 

character  and  motives  as  Mr.  Morley  portrays  them  in  this 

wonderful  book. 


Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
29/1/1903. 

Lady  The  rapidity  with  which  you  fly  from  port  to  port  makes  me 

WoiseieyM  q^^g  giddy  !     I  am  sure  you  do  not  give  yourselves  time  to 

enjoy  at  all.     I  should  want  to  stay  at  least  a  week  ever5rwhere. 

Alexandria  and  Cook's  ofi&ce  will  not  contain  all  the  letters 
I  have  written  to  you  there.  Watts  has  finished  the  first 
tabouret  for  my  Italian  embroideries.  It  looks  as  if  it  had 
walked  out  of  Whitehall  Palace  or  into  it  the  day  Charles  11. 
was  restored.  The  wood  is  antique' d,  and  looks  as  if  genera- 
tions of  housemaids  had  diligently  cleaned  and  given  tone  to 
it.  I  am  sending  you  the  February  P.M,  Gazette  with  your 
second  Napoleon  article. 

Furniture  at  the  "Arts  and  Crafts"  quite  horrible.  Too 
many  poor  enamels.  It  is  now  a  "  fashion  "  and  every  one 
rushes  in  to  compete.  There  were  a  few  very  nice  things. 
The  best,  I  thought,  the  printed  and  illustrated  books.  Some 
most  beautiful. 

22/2/03. 

Lady  I  had  your  pathetic  little  wails  from  the  diabeah  (goodness 

VVoiseiey.  ^uQ^g  how  it's  Spelt)  yesterday.  You  will  soon  be  at  sea  again 
in  your  palatial  yacht.  I  suppose  toujour s  Scotch  broth  is 
as  trying  as  toujours  perdrix.  We  had  tea  on  Thursday  with 
Sir  Charles  and  Lady  Tennant,  to  see  his  pictures.  Such  a 
profusion,  and  all  the  best  of  their  kind.     Sir  Joshua's  "  Kitty 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  417 

Fisher,"  "Lady  Crosbie,"  Gainsboroughs,  Romney,  Hoppner, 
Raeburn,  Opie  !  besides  Wilsons,  Turners,  every  good  master 
you  can  think  of.  I  don't  know  what  they  can  be  worth  !  The 
old  man  (his  family  call  him  "  the  Bart/')  was  as  lively  as  a 
grig,  showing  me  everything  and  telling  me  the  price  of  every- 
thing. Two  inlaid  French  cabinets,  £15,000  !  and  so  on  and 
so  on.  His  gigantic  hall  and  staircase  are  simply  lined  with 
the  finest  mezzotints  in  the  finest  states,  some  unique  !  The 
wife — ^Lady  MacD.'s  niece — ^is  about  thirty-eight,  just  on  her 
feet  again  after  the  third  baby.  His  first  wife  had  thirteen 
children,  and  if  he  lives  long  enough  so  will  this  one.  He  says 
he  knew  you  before  you  were  married.  He  was  really  very  nice 
and  kind,  and  loves  to  show  his  things.  His  pictures  are 
extremely  well  hung,  all  on  one  line,  and  well  apart,  and  beauti- 
fully lit.  That  is  one  thing  electric  light  can  do.  We  crammed 
a  good  deal  into  one  day,  for  we  lunched  at  a  little  Italian 
restaurant  in  Sackville  Street,  and  went  to  Christie's  and  saw 
the  Elizabethan  stoneware  jug  from  West  Mailing  Church, 
which  next  day  fetched  £1500.  It  was  of  splashed  brown-and- 
orange  pottery  with  silver  gilt  mounts,  very  finely  chased. 
The  applicant  for  the  gardener's  place  dined  and  slept  here 
while  I  was  away.  Frances  was  much  struck  with  her.  An 
absolute  lady,  and  didn't  fhnch  at  manure  stirring,  or  scullery 
drain,  or  anything  !  An  unhappy  marriage,  and  failing  in 
market  gardening  has  brought  her  to  this.  Dean  Hole  most 
strongly  recommends  her,  and  has  known  her  all  her  life.  She 
says,  "  I  think  I  have  forty  years'  work  stiU  in  me."  Poor  lady, 
at  eighty-two  she  will  begin  digging  her  own  grave  perhaps. 


27 


I904-I905 

CHAPTER   XXXV 


Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
28/1/1904. 

^Lofd  I  had  a  very  pleasant  visit  to  Micheldever.     We  had  Fisher, 

Woiseieyt  sij.  Norman,  and  Biddulph,  and  their  wives,  also  kind  Lady  Emma 
and  her  husband.  Lord  Northbrook  lent  me  the  official  papers 
he  had  of  my  Egypt  periods.  I  am  deep  in  them  at  present,  as 
I  want  to  "  gut  "  them  quickly,  and  return  them  to  their  owner. 
Lord  N.  begins  to  be  somewhat  feeble  about  the  feet  and  legs. 
I  watch  all  these  signs  now.  I  never  used  to  do  so,  but  I  feel 
that  my  time  must  come  soon  for  being  weak  on  my  pins. 
Northbrook  was  very  nice  :  old  age  has  rubbed  off  the  Dutch 
roughness  that  belonged  to  the  Dutch  Beyrings  or  Barings  of  the 
earlier  generation.  What  lovely  pictures  and  what  a  comfort- 
able house ! 

ChAteau  St.  Michel,  Cannes, 
'L2th  February  1904. 

Lord'  Our  journey  here  most  comfortable.    Frances  is  a  good 

Woiseiey^  traveller,  very  clear  in  her  arrangements,  very  bright  and  easily 

pleased,  and  Magdah  is  a  good  couriers — ^if  there  be  such  an 

expression.    Indeed  the  thought  occurs  to  me  as  to  what  a  good 

business  it  might  be  for  a  clever  woman  to  start  in  that  line 

of  business.     Lady  Bathurst  travelled  in  another  compartment 

with  her  brother  Oliver.     How  young  and  pretty  she  is ;  he 

very  jolly  and  bright.     I  always  thought  Glenesk  very  clever, 

with  a  great  knowledge  of  affairs  and  of  humanity  as  the  species 

418 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY    419 

is  seen  in  society  and  in  public  affairs.  He  is  also  full  of 
hospitality  and  an  admirable  mimic. 

We  travelled  with  the  Chamberlains,  who  were  bound  for 
Egypt.  I  had  very  long  talks  with  him  about  his  prospects,  and 
he  feels  sure  of  eventual  victory  :  so  should  I  be,  were  he  ten 
years  younger,  and  led  a  healthier  hfe.  He  has  been  losing 
ground  lately,  but  he  will  pick  that  up  soon. 

When  walking  home  to-day,  Frances  and  I  met  the  bridal 
pair — ^the  Tecks.  She  was  looking  very  pretty,  and  her  manner 
when  they  stopped  to  speak  was  quite  charming. 

Chateau  St.  Michel,  Cannes, 
i(^th  February  1904. 

I  have  at  last  discovered  from  OUver  Borthwick  that  his  great  Lord 
desire  is  to  go  to  the  present  seat  of  war  to  examine  its  con-  °  "^^  ^^' 
ditions,  etc.  His  scheme  has  been  devised  in  concert  here  with 
the  young  Grand  Duke  Michael.  Oliver  is  much  taken  with  him 
and  believes  that  under  his  aegis  he  would  be  enabled  to  see 
how  matters  really  stood  between  Russia  and  Japan,  and  which 
side  was  to  win  in  the  end.  For  this  he  would  require  an 
autograph  letter  from  the  Czar.  He  has  talked  it  over  already 
twice  with  me,  and  I  have  endeavoured  to  dissuade  him,  as  I 
fancy  this  Grand  Duke  has  little  influence,  and  less  intention  of 
undertaking  any  such  expedition  to  the  seat  of  war. 

A  footman  has  come  into  the  room,  and  he  smells  horribly  ; 
my  mind  follows  my  nose  so  much  that  I  long  to  kick  him 
downstairs.  But,  poor  devil,  he  is  quite  unconscious  of  how 
unpleasantly  his  presence  affects  me. 


Chateau  St.  Michel,  Cannes, 
Monday  Morning,  22/2/1904. 

Yesterday  being  Sunday,  we  all  went  to  church,  and  sitting  Lord 
in  front  of  our  host's  pew  were  the  Royal  bride  and  bridegroom.  ^^^*^- 
The  pew  they  sat  in  belongs  to  the  King,  and,  of  course,  our 
host  has  the  sitting  immediately  behind  it.  To  be  associated,  or 
to  rub  skirts,  with  Royal  personages,  seems  a  necessity  with 
some  folk  in  England.  Although  neither  you  nor  I  have  ever 
developed  any  such  longing,  I  rejoice  to  see  it  in  others,  for  it 
means  the  maintenance  of  Royal  power  in  England  ;  I,  for  one. 


420  THE  LETTERS  OF 

would  never  bear  any  allegiance  to,  nor  have  the  least  regard 
for,  a  "  President,"  even  though  he  were  a  "  Solomon  come  to 
judgment . "  To  me  the  very  idea  is  hateful  of  being  the  "  citizen  " 
of  a  RepubHc.  I  am  so  glad  to  be  the  subject  of  a  King,  and  I 
rejoice  in  being  his  servant. 


Chateau  St.  Michel,  Cannes, 
24th  February  1904. 

Lord  I  have  just  written  to  Mrs.  Beaumont  ^  about  her  admirable 

Woiseiey.  article  in  vindication  of  poor  Colley,  and  of  the  attack  made 
upon  him  by  Morley  in  his  Life  of  Gladstone. 

Yesterday  we  all — ^the  house  party — ^went  to  Grasse  to  pay 
a  visit  to  Miss  Alice  de  Rothschild.  Her  gardens  are  beautiful, 
and  her  house — ^three  small  houses  in  a  row  thrown  into  one — 
most  comfortable,  and  filled  with  charming  pictures  and  lovely 
things  of  every  kind.  I  am  to  have  tea  with  her  this  afternoon 
at  some  club  in  Cannes.  Her  hair  is  now  as  white  as  mine,  and 
she  possesses  everything  this  world  can  provide  to  make  man 
or  woman  happy  and  contented.  She  is,  moreover,  clever  and 
highly  cultured,  and  only  wants  what  money  cannot  provide, 
namely,  good  health,  and,  perhaps,  the  average  allowance  of 
good  looks  accorded  to  men  and  women. 


Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
29/4/1904. 

^Lofd\  F.  Leveson-Gower  has  departed.     I  drove  him  to  Lewes, 

Woiseiey,  ^^^  ^^^  j^j^  -^^^^  ^j^g  train.  Although  politically  our  views  of 
life  are  as  the  poles  apart,  he  is  a  very  interesting  old  gentleman. 
He  is  a  bitter  hater  of  all  things  conservative,  and  of  all  Impe- 
rial notions,  and  is  too  old  to  view  any  national  subject  except 
through  the  worn-out  spectacles  invented  by  Cobden  and  Co. 
The  Whig,  pure  and  simple,  is  as  out  of  date  as  the  ichthyosaurus 
(is  that  spelt  correctly?).  He  had  strong  opinions  politically, 
but  he  put  his  country  above  party.  Nowadays,  the  Radical 
Liberal  blows  off  steam  in  denimciations  of  men  who  put  the 
honour  of  England  above  the  exigencies  of  politics. 

1  Formerly  Lady  Colley ;  married,  as  his  second  wife,  Mr.  Wentworth 
Beaumont,  created  Lord  Allendale. 


WolseUy, 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  421 

S.Y.  "loLAiRE,"  Southampton  Waters, 
2'jth  May  1904. 

We  travelled  to  Southampton  very  comfortably  in  a  saloon  „,^o''f 
carriage,  and  were  taken  down  in  it  to  the  quay,  where  we  walked 
over  a  gangway  to  the  deck  of  this  beautiful  yacht. 

I  have  been  in  the  cabin  below,  where  the  heat  would  have 
astonished  Shadrach,  Meshach,  and  Abednego. 

I  have  no  notion  of  what  Sir  Donald's  movements  are  to 
be,  but  I  beheve  he  will  remain  here  a  few  days.  He  sees  his 
huge  ugly  ships  here,  and  that  is  a  never-ending  pleasure  to  him. 
They  are  j&tted  up  in  the  worst  taste  to  suit  the  character  and 
incUnation  of  the  fourth-rate  vulgarandoes  who  travel  by  them. 
There  is  no  "ship-beauty"  about  them,  no  grace  or  symmetry, 
and  no  beautiful  curves  in  their  lines.  They  are  simply  hideous 
floating  iron  boxes  made  to  carry  thousands  of  tons  of  cargo, 
and  hundreds  of  human  beings. 

Even  this  yacht  with  its  boudoirs  and  handsome  panelling 
of  choice  woods  is  objectionable  to  me.  I  like  a  ship  to  have 
no  gilding  about  it,  and  to  look  Uke  a  ship.  To  try  and  sail 
round  the  world  in  a  sort  of  demi-monde  "  lady's  "  !  suite  of 
apartments  is  incongruous  and  irritating  to  the  temper. 

(Oh,  confound  it !)  I  have  spilt  my  ink  bottle  on  old  Currie's 
carpet  in  my  cabin — ^what  a  nuisance  !  Sir  Donald  reads  the  war 
news  carefully  and  has  explained  to  me  how  the  Japanese  will  take 
Port  Arthur,  with  a  little  lecture  on  strategy.  I  wonder  what 
he  would  think  if  I  tried  to  advise  him  on  the  intricacies  of  the 
business  in  which  he  has  been  so  successful. 

The  Pleasaunce,  Overstrand,  Cromer, 
30/7/1904. 

Last  night's  scene  and  the  performance  of  Milton's  Comus  ^J^fj^ 
that  took  place  in  these  grounds  made  me  regret  your  absence 
beyond  measure.  I  kept  saying  to  myself  throughout  every 
stanza  of  the  play,  how  you  would  have  enjoyed  it  !  No  one 
can  ever  read  Comus  without  a  feeling  of  gratitude  to  the  blind 
man  who  wrote  it.  The  scene  was  perfect.  The  artistic  efforts 
to  make  the  grounds  round  the  house  scenic  in  effect  suited 
the  piece  admirably.  The  acting  was  good,  if  a  little  too  ranting. 
Hundreds  of  Chinese  lanthoms  lit  up  the  shrubberies  round  the 
well-chosen  spot  where  the  representation  took  place. 


Wolselgy. 


422  THE  LETTERS  OF 

Martin  Morris  came  in  time  for  dinner.  He  told  me  he 
belongs  to  a  club,  caUed  the  "  Mermaid  Society/'  who  devote 
themselves  to  getting  up  these  "  scenic  "  plays. 

1 8  Lower  Seymour  Street, 
PoRTMAN  Square,  W., 
*  Thursday,  25/3/04. 

Lady  My  York  expedition  yesterday  was  wholly  satisfactory. 

Woiseieyt  j^  ^^^  ^  ^^jd  day,  but  the  carriages  are  excellently  warmed, 
and  with  a  foot-warmer,  too  ;  I  might  have  been  sitting  by  my 
own  fireside  !  I  thoroughly  enjoyed  even  the  journey.  Such 
a  largCy  hare  country,  not  like  our  pretty  wild  downs  and  wood- 
lands. We  only  stopped  once,  at  Grantham.  I  longed  to 
jump  out  and  fly  to  the  curio  shop  there.  Mr.  Green's  little 
brougham  met  me.  I  had  wired  I  would  eat  in  the  train,  not 
to  lose  time  at  luncheon,  and  accordingly  gnawed  a  chicken 
bone  !  The  house  is  beautiful,  and  sparsely  full  of  fine  furniture. 
He  is  strongest  in  chairs  and  in  Queen  Anne  mirrors,  also  has 
some  good  pieces  of  my  sort  of  furniture.  He  was  most  defer- 
ential to  my  opinions  !  !  I  only  hope  he  did  not  discover  what 
an  ignoramus  I  am  !  but  I  felt  I  learnt  a  good  deal  from  his 
comments.  I  had  two  good  hours  with  him,  and,  thanks  to 
the  furniture,  they  flew  like  ten  minutes !  I  will  detail  it  all 
to  you.  He  has  given  me  some  nice  photos.  He  had  been 
hunting  all  the  morning,  and  whisked  back  in  his  motor  to 
receive  me.  He  has  an  seolian  organ  ;  it  sounded  so  well  in  his 
great  hall. 

S.Y.  "  Iolaire,"  Marseilles, 
Friday,  6th  January  1905. 

Lord  I  have  not  yet  been  ashore  to-day,  but  I  shall  go  with  Sir 

Donald  by  and  by  and  see  the  trash  in  the  curiosity  shops 
which  the  Jews  palm  off  on  the  Gentiles.  Alongside  of  us  lies 
an  enormous  yacht  belonging  to  Mr.  Gordon  Bennett.  He  owns 
the  New  York  Herald,  and  is,  of  course,  enormously  rich — 
but  has  his  failings.  I  would  sooner  be  poor  W.  with  an  empty 
purse  and  be  a  gentleman.  His  father  became  very  rich  during 
the  War  of  Secession. ,  Who  said  that  God  must  set  little  store 
upon  riches  since  He  confers  them  upon  such  very  undesirable 
people? 


WolseUy, 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  423 

S.Y.  "  loLAiRE,"  Porto  Franca, 
12/1/1905. 

Very  shortly  after  the  anchor  was  dropped  my  host  pointed  Lord 
to  a  Httle  villa  in  front  of  which  the  Belgian  flag  was  flying.  ^°^*'^- 
He  said,  "The  King  of  the  Belgians  is  living  there;  you  and 
I  must  go  and  pay  him  a  visit."  He  assured  me  he  knew  him : 
I  very  much  doubt  if  old  Leopold  ever  heard,  knew,  or  cared 
anything  about  either  of  us.  However,  I  positively  refused : 
I  said  the  King  would  be,  anyhow,  an  intolerable  old  bore,  and 
that  Sir  Donald  would  most  probably  find  a  couple  of  little 
girls  there  to  receive  him. 

At  Toulon  Sir  Donald  insisted  we  must  pay  a  visit  to  the 
Admiral.  He  sent  his  secretary  to  arrange  an  hour,  but  there 
was  some  muddle,  and  we  found  ourselves  calling  on  the  fat, 
vulgar  wife  of  the  Prefet. 

S.Y.  '*  loLAiRE,"  Naples, 
i%th  January  1905. 

I  have  answered  the  lady's  letter  and  written  to  the  head-  Lord 
master  about  her  stupid  son.  I  told  her  that  it  was  a  question  °^*'^- 
whether  it  was  worth  while  to  make  a  soldier  of  a  boy  who 
could  not  pass  the  army  examination,  as  the  military  profession 
would  not  now  hold  out  any  prospects  to  him.  Of  course  she 
thinks  the  boy  a  Solon  and  a  Caesar  rolled  into  one.  The 
father  is  very  clever  ;  and  it  is  the  old  story,  children  take  after 
their  mothers  in  brain  power,  and  after  their  fathers  in  general 
appearance.  How  rare  have  been  the  instances  in  history  where 
a  very  able  father  is  followed  by  a  very  able  son,  and  when  it 
does  occur  I  am  always  prepared  to  bet  on  the  mother's  ability 
also.  I  enjoyed  the  museum  here  yesterday  beyond  measure, 
and  most  of  all  the  bronze  statue  of  JuUus  Caesar.  That  was 
a  man     ! 

Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
13/1/05. 
I  was  much  amused  by  your  adventure  with  the  Prefect's  ^/f^y^ 
wife.     Fancy  your  starting  off  here  for  the  Mayor  of  Brighton's 
at-home  day !     Yesterday  great  excitement  in  the  village  as  the 
Charlie  Brands  gave  a  servants'  dance.     Our  dancers  who  went 
were  Tout  est  Perdu  and  the  kitchen-maid.     He  was  as  smart 
as  smart  could  be  when  he  waited  at  dinner.     A  better  coat. 


Wolseley. 


424  THE  LETTERS  OF 

"  bien  rase,  frais,  et  dispos/'  Later  on  he  had  a  houtonniere  \ 
and  asked  Mitchell  to  "  spray  him/'  which  she  did  with  "  White 
Lilac,"  very  strong.  He  hoped  there  would  be  "  mistletoe  to 
kiss  the  girls  under  "  !  I  had  forbidden  my  favourite  "  Sweet 
Pea  "  being  used,  and  so  he  started  embaume,  as  the  French  novels 
say.  The  butler  and  party  from  Gl5mde  Place  called  for  our 
two,  and  five  started  in  the  Brand  governess  car  and  micro- 
scopic pony.  I  can  see  its  little  bending  whalebone  legs  down 
the  hill  !  It  was  a  "  beautiful  ball !  "  in  the  Brand  coach- 
house, supper  cooked  by  a  chef,  champagne  cup  and  flags — 
chandeliers.  Our  old  boy  danced  the  first  dance,  "  The 
Triumph,"  with  a  Brand  daughter  (not  knowing  who  she  was) ; 
he  made  the  faux  pas  of  falling  down,  but  I  trust  no  conversa- 
tional ones.  He  says  it  was  the  parquet  floor,  but  I  suspect  the 
buffet.  They  kept  it  up  till  5  a.m.  !  He  (old  Tout  est  P.)  was 
as  excited  as  a  boy  at  his  first  dance  !  He  had  to  bind  his 
ankles  up  before  he  went  !  Mitchell  said  she  nearly  offered 
him  her  elastic  stocking ! 

Well,  yesterday  we  had  our  luncheon  with  our  neighbours.  I 
said  going,  "  We  shall  have  roast  pheasant  {un  plat  fin)/'  and 
roast  pheasant  we  had  !  Madame  mere  is  a  very  mysterious 
person,  huge,  with  a  nice  face.  Head,  with  a  sort  of  Cenci, 
mummy,  Madonna  (I  can't  say  what  it  is)  wrapping  up  of 
white  thin  silk,  draped  black  garment  strangely  pinned  about 
with  little  brooches.  A  gigantic  spa  or  marble  heart  pendant 
on  her  bosom  (very  ample  that,  too).  If  it  was  all  meant  for 
simplicity  it  was  marvellously  laboured.  The  parlour-maids, 
too,  were  most  extraordinary.  They  might  have  been  odalisques, 
or  nautch  girls,  or  vivandieres,  or  anything  except  parlour- 
maids. She  sits  in  back  drawing-room,  so  dark  you  could 
scarcely  see.  Then  we  were  hurried  into  lunch  (front  drawing- 
room)  with  Mm,  and  she  followed  after  a  long  pause.  He  5^00^ 
all  the  time  till  she  came,  instead  of  flumping  and  getting  up 
again.  I  can't  say  I  succeeded  in  sampling  her  mentally,  but 
she  is  opposed  to  all  present  fashions,  motors,  bridge,  and 
American  wives,  and  said  she  hated  to  hear  of  an  American 
peeress. 

Farm  House,  Glynde,  Lewes, 
22/1/05. 
Lady  Yesterday   Frances*    "  school   treat  "of    a    conjurer    and 

oiseiey.  .,  animated  pictures  "  came  off,  and  was  a  great  success.     The 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  425 

conjurer  was  a  queer  little  person,  dressed  in  an  Eton  jacket, 
a  collar,  with  a  large  nose  (his  own,  not  false),  and,  I  think,  a 
wig.     However,  he  made  the  cliildren  roar  with  laughter. 

I  have  no  recollection  of  your  having  a  Canadian  medal 
unless  it  is  the  "  Red  River  "  medal.  That,  I  seem  to  fancy, 
you  got  thirty  years  after  the  expedition.  I  will  look  through 
your  medals  when  I  am  next  in  town. 

Fancy  two  chairs  which  were  used  at  Apsley  House  at 
the  lying-in-state  of  the  Great  Duke  sold  at  the  sale  of  Elizabeth 
Duchess,  his  daughter-in-law,  last  week  for  £3,  los.  the  pair! 
It  is  very  sad  a  nation  should  value  their  great  men  so  little. 

Hampton  Court  Palace,  Middlesex, 
15/2/05. 

Frances   has    just  been  here  to  luncheon,  and  evidently     Lady 
enjoyed  her  Ireland.     Lord  Roberts  was  unfortunate  at  the  ^°^^^' 
Investiture  and  offended  the  Knights,  as  he  put  on  his  Garter 
riband,  instead  of  his  Patrick.     The  Prince  of  Wales  asked  him 
to  take  it  off,  and  as  he  was  clad  in  his  mantle  it  led  to  delay. 

She  told  me  many  deHghtful  things  of  her  fellow-guests. 
The  Iveaghs  were  so  kind  and  anxious  their  guests  should  be 
happy,  but  Lady  Iveagh  herself  never  appears  till  2,  and  retires 
to  rest  3  to  5 — so  they  did  not  see  much  of  her. 

The  Castle  party  was  a  fine  show  of  Duchesses  and  diamonds, 
but  the  real  Irish  do  not  seem  to  affect  the  Viceregal  Court, 
where  they  are  apt  to  be  unnoticed. 

How  nice  it  is  that  you  and  I  don't  go  dans  le  monde.  I  am 
perfectly  happy  in  my  quiet  Ufe,  and  our  little  foreign  trip  will 
be  deHghtful. 

Hampton  Court  Palace,  Middlesex, 

18/2/05. 

I  am  rather  surprised  that  the  King  and  Queen  held  their  Lady 
Court  last  night  notwithstanding  "  Sergius' "  assassination,  ^°^^^^' 
but  I  suppose  they  did  not  hke  to  put  it  off  at  the  eleventh  hour. 
What  a  dreadful  state  Russia  seems  in  !  There  has  been  a  semi- 
mihtary  funeral  here  to-day.  Lady  Warburton's  son  was  killed 
on  the  railway  last  Saturday,  coming  back  from  a  matinee. 
The  Lancers  lined  the  road  to  the  gate,  looking  very  smart. 

Be  sure  you  do  not  send  warm  clothes  home  to  England, 


426   THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 

as  I  believe  it  is  often  quite  cold  at  Mentone,  and  may  be  more 
so  even  if  we  go  to  Florence  and  Rouen. 

I  really  think  what  your  memory  wants  is  to  lie  fallow. 
You  have  overstrained  it  for  so  many  years — ^you  must  let 
it  quite  rest.  When  we  are  together  I  will  try  to  remember 
everj^hing,  but  mine,  in  many  ways,  is  not  so  good  as  yours. 
And  your  judgment  always  so  extraordinarily  good.  You  go 
so  straight  to  a  point,  I  would  rather  have  your  advice  than 
any  one's. 

Will  it  not  be  nice  to  be  together,  and  to  be  abroad  together, 
and  poke  about  ?  I  have  had  a  clever  little  Dutch  dealer 
here  to-day  and  enjoyed  a  great  deal  of  chair-leg  chat  ! 

I  have  just  come  across  a  little  sentence  by  Emerson  which 
might  be  made  for  you.  "  His  heart  was  as  great  as  the  world, 
but  there  was  no  room  in  it  to  hold  the  memory  of  a  wrong.** 
It  exactly  describes  you.  It  makes  me  feel  what  a  poor,  petty 
nature  I  have,  for  I  don't  forget  wrongs,  and  you  put  them  quite 
aside. 


I 906-1907 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

S.Y.  "  loLAiRE,"  Villa  Franche, 
28th  January. 

I  have  been  nervous  about  Gold  Stick  duties  this  month.  Lord 
but  now  there  are  only  three  more  days  before  the  ist  February,  ^°^^^^- 
so  I  regard  myself  as  free  for  another  two  months.  That 
dreadful  old  King  of  the  Belgians  came  to-day  to  this  yacht 
and  inspected  her,  and  we  had  to  listen  to  his  prosy  stories. 
Sir  Donald  in  the  seventh  heaven.  Lady  Currie  looking  upon 
the  event  from  a  more  rational  point  of  view.  Do  tell  me  in 
your  next  letter  what  was  the  name  of  the  Count  who  used 
always  to  go  about  with  the  King.  He  is  not  with  him  at 
present,  and  as  I  don't  know  his  name  I  did  not  Hke  to  ask 
about  him. 

If  you  were  here  we  might  have  pleasant  walks  together, 
but  I  go  for  drives  which  are  so  dull  that  I  long  to  knock  off 
the  coachman's  hat  for  a  diversion. 


S.Y.  **  loLAiRE,"  Villa  Franche, 
1st  February  1906. 

We  have  now  the  Admiral  of  a  Yankee  squadron  coming  Lord 
to  lunch  to  meet  old  King  Leopold.  That  squadron  anchored  ^oiseiey. 
here  the  night  before  last,  and  the  moment  it  arrived  I  knew  we 
should  have  its  Admiral  or  its  Commodore  to  lunch.  Well, 
I  do  wish  I  might  dare  to  go  ashore  for  a  walk  during  this 
reception.  Poor  Leopold,  whose  French  cook  is  simply  superb, 
will  be  sorely  nonplussed  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  cooking  here, 
rather  suggestive  of  Hengist  and  Horsa.     However,  the  sun 

4«7 


428  THE  LETTERS  OF 

shines,  the  sky  is  clear ;  thank  God  I  am  strong  and  as  lusty  as 
the  aged  eagle,  and  if  I  could  only  be  with  you,  I  should  be 
supremely  happy.  Yesterday  we  went  in  our  floating  palace 
to  Nice,  and  thence  by  carriage  to  Grasse,  where  the  everything 
else  but  beautiful  Miss  Rothschild  has  that  most  charming  villa. 
^th  February. — We  have  not  seen  the  sun  for  several  days, 
and  to-day  is  positively  cold.  We  have  a  fire  in  the  **  Saloon  " 
— ^terrible  word  ? — every  day.  Yesterday  a  fete  on  board  the 
American  Admiral's  ship.  I  was  hauled  there,  but  as  soon  as  I 
had  said  "  How  do  you  do  ?  "  to  the  Admiral,  I  came  away. 
The  ship  was  so  crowded  with  Americans  from  Nice,  that  I  wonder 
the  tons  weight  of  "  Oh  mys  *'  did  not  sink  her.  I  hate  to  write 
a  depreciative  word  of  that  splendid  nation,  but  when  I  am 
close  up  with  them  I  thank  Heaven  I  am  not  one  of  them. 


I  Gore  Street,  Queen's  Gate,  S.W., 
2nd  February  1906. 
Lady  I  havc  had  a  visit  from  Lady  H.,  who  wanted  to  see  this 

Woiseiey,  j^Q^gg^  a.s  she  is  employing  Davenport.  She  is  a  rough  "  wench  " 
— ^that  word  describes  her  best — ^with  a  pleasant  smile,  and  with 
apparently  a  strange  taste  for  Charles  I.  and  11.  furniture.  She 
looks  as  if  Maple  would  suit  her  better.  Elle  ne  s'est  pas  genee 
to  ask  the  price  of  most  things,  but  /  was  a  sphinx !  People 
are  funny  nowadays  !  I  had  tea  with  the  Percy  Macquoids,  and 
much  pleasant  furniture  talk. 

Madeleine  came,  and  we  went  out  together  to  the  old 
masters,  which  are  beautiful.  Like  the  furniture,  I  now  have 
retreated  to  seventeenth  century,  and  even  Sir  Joshua  does  not 
move  me  much.  I  went  on  to  see  dear  Sir  Edward  Bulwer. 
He  was  very  nice  and  bright,  and  seems  decidedly  in  better 
health.     He  had  a  funny  little  meal  of  hot  milk  and  oranges. 

I  have  seen  an  amusing  farce.  La  petite  fonctionnaire — a 
pretty  post-mistress  who  turned  all  the  men's  heads  in  a 
provincial  town.  One  infatuated  old  man  handed  her  in  a 
telegram  addressed  to  herself — "  Ardent  amour,  accept ez  superbe 
installation  Paris,  chevaux,  diamants,  dent  elle."  She  never 
turned  a  hair  or  winked  an  eyelash,  but  said,  "Deux  francs 
cinquante,  monsieur,  s'il  vous  plait,  pour  votre  depeche."  It 
caused  roars  of  laughter.  You  can  tell  that  to  your  wicked 
old^Leopold.     It  would  be  just  what  he  would  do  ! 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  429 

I  Gore  Street,  Queen's  Gate,  S.W., 

9/2/06. 

Dearest  Darny, — I  had  a  "  day  out  "  to-day  with  Mr.  Lady 
Brooke — commonly  called  Brookey.  We  met  at  Christie's,  ^o^^^^- 
where  there  was  much  rubbish,  then  we  went  to  haunts  he 
knew  of  round  Golden  Square.  One  rather  nice  club-footed 
dealer,  a  gentleman,  Mr.  Kinderman,  might  be  useful,  I  think. 
He  seemed  a  real  expert.  Brookey  says  he  is  so.  He  is  a 
nephew  of  the  Louis  Huths — so  he  must  have  seen  good  things. 
We  then  lunched  at  Mr.  Leveson-Gower's  restaurant,  or  rather 
the  restaurant  started  by  his  late  chef.  It  is  near  Soho  Square, 
and  rather  a  pot-house-y  little  place.  We  wound  up  with  the 
great  Letts,  as  B.  had  never  been  there.  He  had  one  good  sea- 
weed inlay  Queen  Anne's  cabinet,  £480  !  Finally  we  bussed 
home — ^that  is,  to  our  respective  homes.  Then  I  had  General 
Swaine  to  tea.  He  is  a  nice,  kind,  domestic  creature,  as  well  as 
a  good  soldier.  I  wish  I  felt  you  were  having  happy  days — ^not 
dragged  to  parties  and  to  see  Kings.  But  I  hope  soon,  when  we 
are  together,  you  will  be  very  happy,  and  then  you  shall  never  go 
yachting  again,  unless  you  ardently  wish  to.  I  long  to  be  with 
you. — Yours  always,  dearest. 


I  Gore  Street,  Queen's  Gate,  S.W., 

18/2/06. 

Yesterday  (as  I  keep  my  diary  !)  Frances  and  I  went  to  Lady 
see  Mr.  Tree's  play  Nero.  As  a  spectacle  it  was  gorgeous—  ^o^^^^- 
scenery,  dresses,  everything  wonderful.  Mr.  Percy  Macquoid 
had  dressed  and  furnished,  so  we  saw  what  was  worn  and 
sat  upon,  A.D.  59.  Nero  (Mr.  Tree)  looked  Uke  a  battered 
Belgravian  Dowager,  with  a  wig  and  golden  wreath,  fat, 
flabby  cheeks,  and  a  stomach.  No  sign  of  a  youth  about  him. 
Agrippina,  his  mother  (Mrs.  Tree),  looked  about  thirty.  The 
acting  was  stagey  ;  they  arched  their  backs,  and  puffed  out 
their  cheeks,  and  stretched  their  arms  to  heaven,  with  mono- 
tonous repetition.  If  they  would  have  simply  put  themselves 
into  graceful  tableaux  and  said  nothing,  it  would  have  been  much 
better,  and  would  not  have  kept  us  there  for  three  and  a  half 
hours  !     Rome  burning  was  wonderfully  done,  and  Nero  played 


430  THE  LETTERS  OF 

away  on  his  l5n:e.     I  would,  however,  have  rather  had  five 
minutes  of  great  acting. 

I  Gore  Street,  Queen's  Gate,  S.W., 
25/2/06. 

Lady  DEAREST  Dearest, — ^This  will,  I  think,  be  my  last  letter, 

Woiseiey.  3,3  I  hope  to  foUow  SO  quickly  on  its  heels.  How  I  hope  to 
see  your  dear  smiling  little  face  at  the  Mentone  Station,  or 
if  not  at  the  station,  then  at  the  Hotel  dTtahe.  To-day 
I  took  Grove-y  to  tea  at  the  Macquoids,  which  I  think  he  en- 
joyed. He  seems  quite  keen  on  furniture.  I  went  to  see  the 
Halsburys.  The  old  boy  is  as  hale  and  jolly  as  ever.  The  only 
son  very  ill  with  typhoid,  and  two  nurses,  but  doing  well. 

I  sat  a  long  time  on  Friday  with  Lady  Sligo,  who  was  dehght- 
ivH— young,  bright,  and  gay,  though  still  in  bed  after  her  two 
operations.  How  old  and  dry  the  young-ish  (I  am  thinking  of 
thirty-three)  are  compared  to  sixty-three  !  Perhaps  they  will  get 
young ;  but  you  at  seventy-two  are  a  light-hearted  boy. — Yours 
always,  dearest. 


S.Y.  "  loLAiRE,"  Messina, 
igth  February  1907. 

Lord  I  believe  we  go  to  sea  to-day,  so  this  may  be  my  last  letter 

Woiseiey.  {^-qy^  Messina,  and  my  next  will  be  from  detestable  Malta.  I 
should  enjoy  Malta  for  a  few  days  very  much,  were  I  not 
compelled  to  go  ashore  and  pay  visits.  But  you  know  I  hate 
all  ceremonies,  for  I  have  had  enough  of  them  throughout  my 
long  Ufe,  and  want,  for  the  rest  of  my  days,  peace  and  quiet 
with  you. 

Do  you  know,  I  can  remember  in  the  first  Latin  book  I  ever 
read  there  was  a  list  of  all  the  Roman  Kings,  beginning  with 
Romulus,  and  I  can  repeat  their  names  even  now.  So  you  see 
that  although  I  cannot  remember  what  I  did  yesterday  I  recall 
all  the  events  of  my  youth  still. 

Mentone,  9/2/07. 

Lady  I  am  afraid  you  are  rather  tried,  but  remember  one  week 

Woiseiey.  ^^^  already  gone.      You  left   2nd  February,  a  week  to-day. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  431 

I  am  glad  the  valet  is  a  success.  He  is  a  very  nice  man, 
I  think — far  above  the  usual  servant  average.  Now  I  must 
tell  you  of  my  doings.  I  am  thankful  you  were  not 
entangled  in  what  I  went  through.  The  other  day  I  arranged 
to  lunch  at  the  Villa.  At  the  door  I  was  met  by  the 
owner.  The  moment  I  saw  him  I  knew  what  the  place 
would  be  like.  My  dear,  he  is  shorter  than  me,  an 
enormous  shapeless  mass,  with  stomachs  (not  one,  three)  hang- 
ing in  folds  upon  folds  down  to  where  his  knees  are — ^if  one 
could  see  them.  Among  his  guests  were  a  very  estimable,  dull, 
and  dreary  third-rate  soldier,  with  an  equally  dowdy,  estimable 
wife,  to  whom  I  was  introduced  as  "the  Viscountess  Wolseley." 
We  went  into  the  house.  Magnificence  everywhere.  A  marble 
hall,  immense  and  rather  fine  ;  alabaster  chairs,  monumental 
chimney-piece,  etc.  etc.  Architecture  good.  Then  several 
drawing-rooms.  Poor  imitation  French  furniture,  Aubusson 
(modem)  carpets.  Then  we  went  into  luncheon.  A  large 
table,  an  ocean  indeed,  laid  for  twelve  or  more.  Other  guests — 
staying  or  paying  ? — came  in  and  were  introduced.  I  was  so 
agitated  at  finding  myself  in  such  a  gaUre  that  I  did  not  catch 
their  names.  Luckily  Sir  Thomas  was  on  the  same  side  of  the 
table  as  me,  so  that  we  could  not  see  one  another,  which  was 
just  as  well.  A  vile  luncheon.  After  which  we  were  taken 
over  the  palatial  mansion.  It  seemed  chiefly  to  contain  bath- 
rooms, six  on  one  floor  !  The  terraces  and  gardens  and  lemon 
groves  were  nice,  because,  try  as  one  may,  one  cannot  vulgarise 
the  sea  and  the  mountain  outlines. 

Constable  has  at  last  sent  in  his  account  for  sale  of  book  to 
31/12/06.     For  six  months  all  you  trowser  is  £2,  i8s.  ! 


H6tel  dTtalie,  Mentone, 
Alpes  Maritimes,  France, 
12/2/07. 

My  dearest  Dear, — ^To-day  has  been  a  dull,  dreary,  rainy  -  Lady 
day.  I  lunched  with  Mrs.  Hay  Drummond  (Balcony  Belle)  at '-  Wolseley. 
the  Bellevue  to  meet  Lord  Dundonald  and  his  sister,  Lady 
EHzabeth  Cochrane.  Then  I  had  the  Hanbury-Tracys  to  tea. 
She  was  a  widow,  and  is  young  and  nice-looking.  He  looks 
about  nineteen  and  is  about  thirty-six.  He  is  a  Major  in  the 
Blues  and  was  full  of  regret  at  not  seeing  **  his  Colonel,"  and 


432  THE  LETTERS  OF 

said  many  nice  things  of  how  proud  they  are  to  have  you  for 
their  Colonel.  He  also  said,  "  It  is  very  cool  to  talk  of  a  Field- 
Marshal  as  my  Colonel.'*  Lord  Dundonald,  full  of  ideas  from 
galloping  guns  to  gipsy  vans,  sent  you  many  messages  and 
spoke  dehghtfuUy  about  all  you  had  done  for  the  Army.  If 
you  continue  to  have  cold  weather,  which  I  see  prevails  at  Tunis 
and  Algiers,  don't  stay  to  take  a  chill  on  the  yacht,  but  take  ship 
at  some  port  back  to  me. 


Hotel  dTtalie,  Mentone, 
Alpes  Maritimes,  France, 

25/2/07. 

Lady  Lovely  weather  here  now.     Mile  de  la  Chere  has  been  to  see 

oseey.  ^^^  ^^^  is  nice,  but  di,  flatterer,  which  (when  laid  on  too  thick 
to  swallow)  I  dislike.  She  counts  it  "  an  epoch  in  her  life  to 
have  known  me,"  etc.  etc.  Finally,  Lady  MacDougal  and  I 
went  to  tea  with  Miss  Saurin  to  meet  some  very  pleasant 
Farquhar  cousins  (Sir  Walter's  daughters)  and  Lady  Poltimore. 
The  latter  was  a  Sheridan,  so  has  to  live  up  to  good  looks.  I 
must  say  she  does  it  admirably.  She  was  married,  I  see,  in  '51, 
^o,  sa3dng  she  was  then  seventeen,  she  must  be  seventy-two 
at  least.  She  is  tall,  very  slight,  very  good  features,  white  hair 
very  weU  arranged,  and  very  picturesque  clothes.  Her  face 
without  a  line  or  wrinkle — I  should  think  it  must  be  a  triumph 
of  face  massage.  A  very  observed  manner.  I  thought  I  saw  a 
twinkle  of  humour,  but  "  face  massage  "  (I  fancy)  has  obliterated 
every  line  life  has  made  on  her  features.  I  am  deep  in 
Baedeker's  Rome,  and  revel  in  the  maps  and  plans.  I  am 
getting  the  localities  of  Esquiline,  Viminale,  Quirinale,  Forum, 
etc.  etc.,  into  my  brain.  My  first  visit  will  be  to  "  St.  Antoine's 
Church,"  patron  saint  of  domestic  animals,  where  I  shaU  bum 
four  little  cierges  to  his  glory  for  Fritz,  Boy,  Rover,  and  even 
poor  Prinny. 


H6tel  d'Italie,  Mentone, 

5/3/07. 

Lady  I  havc  been  running  round  this  last  week  to  look  at  villas, 

Woiseiey.  ^^^^  |^  j^^g  ^^^^  good,  as  it  has  frightened  old  Boss,  who  yester- 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  433 

day  of  his  own  accord  approached  me  about  Tourettes.^  He  is 
going  to-day  to  interview  the  old  Ladies  and  see  if  they  will 
vacate  it  for  next  year.  Yesterday  in  a  villa  I  went  to  see,  I 
came  across  an  old  lady,  Mrs.  Griffiths,  daughter  of  the  old 
Lord  Saye  and  Sele.  She  was  full  of  the  Fiennes  and  Wolseley 
intermarriages  and  insisted  on  seeing  me  to  talk  about  it.  She 
said  her  father  had  been  so  proud  of  being  connected  with  you. 
She  has  edited  a  book  (now  rare)  called  Through  England  on  a 
Side  Saddle,  being  the  diary  of  one  CeUa  Fiennes,  who  lived 
tempo  William  and  Mary,  and  who  mentions  the  Wolseley 
"  alHances."  General  Meade  sends  friendly  messages  to  "  my 
Bazandand."  Every  one  here  asks  constantly  after  you.  They 
are  all  so  fond  of  you  and  so  proud  of  you. 


I  Gore  Street, 
Friday  Evening. 

I  had  your  little  wire — dear  little  affectionate  soul !  I  shall  Lady 
be  back  to-morrow,  Saturday,  afternoon.  I  have  done  a  great  ^^^^^^y- 
deal  of  business,  and  have  harpooned  a  footman  and  hope  he 
will  turn  out  well.  I  feel  all  the  better  for  my  outing.  It  has 
brisked  me  up — and  it  will  brisk  you  up  to  hear  of  it.  I  have 
seen  Sir  H.  Bulwer  and  Sir  C.  Grove,  so  you  see  I  have  my 
adorateurs — ^but  it  is  you,  not  me,  that  they  adore. 

^  Lord  and  Lady  Wolseley  spent  several  winters  at  this  villa,  where 
Lord  Wolseley  died. 


28 


igii 

CHAPTER  XXXVII 

H6tel  du  Parc,  Vichy, 
30/4/11. 

Lady  I  got  three  letters  to-day  from  you.    But  they  made  me 

Woiseiey.  ^^^-^^^  ^^^ — ^because  I  see  you  are  not  happy.  But,  dearest, 
the  time  will  quickly  pass — ^and  if  I  get  quite  well  here,  I 
need  not  go  away  again — and  we  can  do  all  kinds  of  pleasant 
things  when  I  am  myself  again.  I  am  sure  it  is  best  for  you 
to  stay  till  my  cure  is  over.  It  is  such  a  long,  tedious  journey 
from  Mentone  here,  and  at  present  this  place  is  chill  and 
desolate,  and  constant  showers.  Rooms  very  comfortable,  but 
food  indifferent.  It  would  worry  me  to  know  you  were  eating 
it.  My  room  looks  out  into  a  sort  of  Tuileries  gardens,  the 
lime  trees  scarcely  out  yet.  A  miUtary  band  playing  (very  old- 
fashioned  tunes)  and  a  few  stragglers  walking  about,  and 
showers  of  rain  every  half-hour.  Very  funny  people  in  the 
hotel,  just  the  usual  frumps,  with  a  few  harum-scarum  thrown 
in.     Luckily  not  a  creature  I  ever  saw  before. 

This  is  all  for  to-day,  except  that  I  love  your  letters,  so  write 
as  often  as  possible. 

H6TEL  DU  PARC,   ViCHY, 
2/5/19II. 

Lady  Be  sure  you  put  a  distinct   "  a  "  in  Pare  or  it  looks  like 

Woheiey.  «' H5tel  du  PoYc"—Vig's  Hotel !     I  have  just   been  out  for 

my  two  first  drinks,  10.30  and  11. 15.      I  am  glad    you  find 

Mr.  Fearon  good  company.     He  certainly  is  that,  and  very 

kind,  too.    The  time  will  soon  pass  now  before  we  are  together 

434 


THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY    435 

again.  I  feel  very  tired  to-day  after  the  pummelling  of  the 
massage  bath  yesterday,  and  shall  rest  this  afternoon  except 
going  out  to  drink  at  3  and  4. 

A  great  many  people  with  motors  at  this  hotel.  Brown 
says  there  are  no  end  of  chauffeurs  where  she  dines.  They  stay 
a  few  days  and  then  go  on  elsewhere. 

I  remember  an  anecdote  of  an  old  Lord  Ravensworth  which 
reminds  me  of  you.  When  a  new  guest  arrived  he  used  to  say, 
"  Oh  dear,  very  glad  to  see  you — ^when  do  you  go  away  ?  ** 


H6tel  du  Parc,  Vichy, 
5/5/1911- 

I  usually  get  your  letters  with  my  eight  o'clock  break-  Lady 
fast,  in  bed.  By  10.30  I  am  out  drinking  at  the  spring  ^^^'^^^y- 
close  by  ;  again  at  11 — again  at  3  and  at  4.  This  varied 
by  baths  every  other  day.  Yesterday  at  the  Baths  I  could 
not  find  my  way,  so  the  woman  called,  "Chasseur,  montez  le 
bain  k  cette  dame."  I  expected  to  see  a  man  6  feet  high,  but  a 
tiny  boy  in  knickerbockers  was  the  "  Chasseur."  How  grand 
the  French  phraseology  is.  The  douche  is  like  large  warm  hail- 
stones smiting  one  all  over.  You  ask  when  and  where  we  are 
to  meet.  I  think  Fontainebleau  or  Versailles — and  date  about 
29th  of  this  month.  You  have  no  arrangements  to  make,  my 
little  darling.  I  shall  do  it  all  for  you,  and  you  wiQ  find  me 
waiting,  and  smiling,  with  my  arms  wide  open,  for  you. 

I  think  if  we  meet  at  Fontainebleau,  we  shall  find  much  to 
interest  us  there.  You  will  see  the  very  table  upon  which 
Napoleon  signed  his  abdication,  and  the  stairs  Fee  d  Cheval 
shape,  where  he  bade  his  vieille  garde  good-bye.  Oh,  what  a 
sad  moment  that  was ! 

The  horrid  American  tongue  is  prevalent  here,  and  there 
are  Brazilians,  the  women  with  thick  black  moustaches — 
horrible  !  I  had  a  nice  letter  from  Lord  Mount  Stephen,  to 
whom  I  had  written. 

I  am  reading  Lord  Goschen's  Ufe.  It  is  too  poUtical  for  me. 
Too  much  of  the  "  party  "  and  not  enough  of  the  man.  No 
one  reading  it  would  guess  what  a  witty,  amusing  companion 
he  was — but  it  shows  him  to  have  been  a  statesman,  not  merely 
a  pohtician. 


436  THE  LETTERS  OF 

H6tel  du  PARC,  Vichy, 
I0/5/II. 

"    Lady  I  think   by  the  time  I  rejoin  you  I  shall  be  massaged 

Woheiey.  ^^^  douched  into  a  transparency. 

We  have  here  H.H.  the  Gwaekwar  (?)  of  Baroda,  his 
Maharanee,  and  the  Princess  Elvina.  They  sit  close  to  me  at 
meals.  They  are  in  native  dress,  in  the  evening  rather  pretty 
transparent  silver  bordered  scarves  of  pink  and  grey.  The 
Maharanee  is  much  bejewelled,  bangles  and  chains  of  diamonds, 
but  no  fire  in  the  stones.  She  has  a  hole  in  her  forehead  as  if  she 
had  had  a  diamond  set  in  it,  she  has  large  oily  black  eyes,  and 
looks  apathetic.  Another  little  Indian  man  sits  near,  and  the 
Gwaekwar  gets  up  every  now  and  then  and  whispers  into  his  ear, 
and  looks  as  if  he  were  abusing  or  scolding  him.  The  little  man 
is  quite  meek  and  seems  to  deprecate  H.H.'s  wrath.  It  amuses 
me  to  watch  them,  which  I  can  do  easily  as  they  are  just 
opposite  me.  There  are  heaps  of  frumps,  and  a  few  bold,  bad 
ones,  with  protruded  busts  and  hobble  skirts. 

H6TEL  DU  PARC,   ViCHY, 

24/5/II. 

Lady  I  saw  in  some  paper  Alfred  Austin  mentioned  as  ' '  Sir  Alfred.  * ' 

WoUeiey.  j  ^j-Qte  and  asked  Mrs.  A.  Lang  if  she  had  heard  of  it,  and 
Andrew  Lang  wrote  to  me  : 

"  Dear  Lady  Wolseley, — As  an  unbought  poet  and  loyalist, 
I  am  wholly  unaware,  and  so  is  my  wife,  that  the  gaolers  of  the 
last  of  the  Hanoverians  have  wrung  from  him  a  title  of  any 
kind  for  the  Poet  Laureate.  Would  he  accept  a  coronet  from 
the  soapless  hands  of  these  sons  of  toil  ?  When  a  man  is  a 
son  of  toil  he  can't  (or  /  would  not)  lay  out  a  penny  on  soap. 
I'd  put  it  in  beer  or  tobacco,  but,  enfin,  we  do  not  know  that 
Mr.  Asquith  has  created  a  Sir  Austin  of  any  species — and  I 
don't  think  Mr.  Austin  would  submit  to  it.  The  papers  would 
have  been  wringing  ^  with  it. 

Je  suis,  Madame  la  Mar^chale, 
Votre  tres  obeissant  serviteur, 
Andre  Lang  de  Lang 
(pas  encore  Chevalier)." 
1  Please  observe  spelling. — ^L.  W. 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  437 

I  can  see  you  from  here  packing  the  dispatch  box  with 
infinite  care  and  method  !  Sir  Henry  wrote  me  a  charming 
farewell  letter  full  of  affection  and  admiration  and  reverence, 
I  may  say,  for  you.  Nothing  could  be  nicer.  I  think  he  en- 
joyed his  stay. 

On  Monday,  dearest,  quite  early,  we  shall,  I  trust,  meet  in 
Paris.  I  hope  rooms  will  be  nice — but  we  shall  be  together, 
and  I  know  you  are  so  kind  and  considerate  you  will  put  up 
with  anything.    Good-bye  now,  dearest. 


Villa  La  Tourette,  Mentone, 
2yth  April  191 1. 

I  have  had  my  soUtary  walk  on  the  Boulevard  :  I  prefer  Lord 
being  alone,  for  then  I  can  think  of  you  and  say  to  myself,  ^^^^' 
'*  I  wonder  what  Loo  is  doing  now  ?  "  Every  one  in  this  house 
is  most  kind,  and  when  with  any  of  our  guests  I  laugh  as  loud  as 
the  noisiest  of  them ;  but  the  laugh  is  a  sham,  and  I  think  I  act 
the  part  I  have  chosen  for  myself  so  weU,  that  none  of  those 
around  me  have  the  least  notion  that  I  am  acting  a  part.  I 
have  thus  allowed  my  pen  to  run  away  with  my  discretion  here, 
but  I  shall  not  in  future  letters  "gush"  about  my  feelings  or 
even  bemoan  your  absence. 

I  shall  write  to  you  to-morrow,  when  I  shall  be  in  a  calmer 
mood.  I  am  sure  your  visit  to  the  South  will  do  you  much 
good,  so  do  not  upon  any  account  hurry  back — think  of  your 
health  and  make  it  your  chief  object  until  we  shall  happily  meet 
again.  May  God  bless  you  with  health  and  good  spirits  and 
contentment.  Adieu,  dearest,  and  when  you  pray  at  night 
offer  up  a  Uttle  prayer  for  your  loving  and  devoted  husband. 

^rd  May  191 1. 

I  hang  upon  your  letters,  for  upon  you  **  hangs  all  the  Ught  tLord 
that  shines  on  earth  for  me."  As  you  well  know  that  to  be  ^•''<'^^^* 
the  case,  I  hang  upon  your  kind  words  the  older  I  grow.  I  have 
just  come  in  from  a  short  walk  with  the  womenkind  staying 
here  with  us.  Beauty  is  not  any  strong  characteristic  amongst 
them,  but  they  are  very  nice,  quiet  people  who  suffer  somewhat 
from  the  heat.     Are  you  very  hot  in  *'  your  diggings,"  and  how 


438  THE  LETTERS  OF 

do  you  get  through  the  day  ?  Do  you  really  believe  the  squirt- 
ing of  water  and  rubbing  of  skin  is  having  the  desired  effect  on 
you  ?  Have  you  laid  any  plans  for  the  future  ?  That  being 
literally  translated  means,  when  are  you  and  I  to  "  Upstick  " 
and  away  to  our  old  haunts  at  home  and  the  pleasant  warmth 
and  brightness  of  an  EngUsh  summer  ?  The  sun  here  begins  to 
be  a  Uttle  too  strong  for  the  Britisher  between  ii  a.m.  and 
4  p.m.  I  sit  at  my  window  and  look  over  a  shipless  sea — 
shipless,  and  therefore  comparatively  uninteresting.  No  craft, 
great  or  small,  ever  seems  to  come  near  the  shore  to  gladden 
one's  eyes.  I  hope  the  empty  harbour  is  not  silent  evidence  of 
some  job  being  perpetrated  for  poUtical  reasons. 

I  am  very  sorry  to  say  that  my  memory  becomes  worse  day 
by  day,  so  much  so,  that  I  shirk  written  correspondence  with 
any  but  those  whom  I  feel  will  make  due  allowance  for  this 
terrible  infliction  due  to  the  hard  work  which  overstrained  my 
mental  capacity  when  I  was  young.  I  won  the  game  I  played  at, 
but  it  cost  me  dear.  But  I  say  with  all  my  heart,  "  God's  will 
be  done.*'  I  have  been  greatly  favoured  by  the  Almighty,  and 
I  should  indeed  be  ungrateful  were  I  now  to  cavil  at  my  small 
misfortunes. 


Villa  La  Tourette,  Mentone, 
i/^th  May  191 1. 

Lord  I  have  risen  very  early,  being  tired  of  bed,  where  I  remained 

WoiseUy.  q^q^q  fQj.  gome  time  thinking  of  you.  I  felt  sure  that  you 
were  still  abed  unless  pulled  from  thence  to  be  semi-boiled  in 
hot  water  that  came  from  the  house  pump,  but  was  declared 
by  the  hotel-keeper  to  have  been  drawn  from  a  neighbouring 
spring  that  was,  day  and  night,  of  a  fizzing,  boiling  temporJJ- 
ture.  There  is  an  ugly  mist  over  the  sea  that  hides  the  horizon 
so  that  the  murky  clouds  around  us  seem  to  stretch  from  heaven 
to  this  house-covered  shore.  An  old  cock  is  faintly  crowing 
somewhere  near  the  palace  of  La  Tourette.  I  feel  tolerably 
certain  he  has  just  received  his  death-warrant,  hence  his  mono- 
tonous music  ! 

As  I  Hfted  my  eyes  from  this  paper  at  the  word  "  music  " 
I  saw  a  poor  Uttle  boy — scant  of  clothing — ^trundle  a  heavily- 
laden  wheelbarrow  along  the  road  beneath  me.  I  wondered  to 
myself  if  the  poor  httle  fellow  has  had  any  breakfast  yet.    How 


LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY  439 

terrible,  very  terrible,  must  be  the  lives  of  the  poor  of  all  ages, 
but  for  the  growing  Uttle  urchin,  trudging  with  bare  feet  along 
a  muddy  road  at  this  early,  cock-crowing  hour  of  the  morn- 
ing, how  terrible !  And  yet  God  so  tempered  the  wind  to  the 
shorn  lamb,  that  even  this  poor  little  fellow  swings  along  as  if 
the  best  of  breakfasts  awaits  his  return  to  a  home  in  which — 
probably — ^there  may  not  be  a  loaf  of  bread  or  a  sixpence  to 
buy  one. 

Such-like  thoughts  often  come  over  me  unbidden,  and  I  feel 
inclined  to  hate  myself  for  being  so  much  better  off  than  this 
poorly-clad,  underfed  Uttle  chap. 

We  went  yesterday  to  Monaco,  that  seat  of  gambling  which 
disgraces  the  Prince  who  is  content  to  Uve  upon  the  gain  derived 
from  gamesters.  I  too  have  risked  and  lost  some  of  my  slender 
capital. 

Miss  Trotter  is  so  kind  to  me,  and  Henry  Bulwer  is  the  best 
of  companions.  So  well  read,  and  a  gentleman  in  every  thought 
and  word  and  deed. 

Villa  La  Tourette,  Mentone, 
16/A  May  191 1. 

The  sun  becomes  daily  hotter,  and  will  very  soon  be  a  dis-  „/-^j 
agreeable  heavenly  visitor.     But  I  can  always  '*  run  away  "  : 
though  you  know  I  have  not  been  successful  in  that  exercise  in 
previous  years. 

According  to  my  view  it  is  high  time  for  us  to  make  for  our 
Palace  on  the  Thames.  But,  as  you  know  from  experience,  I 
leave  these  things  to  you,  for  your  decision  always  proves  to  be 
best.  My  only  wish  is  to  do  what  would  afford  you  the  most 
pleasure,  so  tell  me  exactly  what  you  would  Uke.  You  have  been 
such  a  very  good  correspondent  these  weeks.  I  thank  you  from 
my  heart. 

My  memory,  that  has  been  "  backing  and  filling  "  like  some 
small  yacht  in  a  saiUng  race,  has  now  so  far  left  me  that  I  cannot 
comfortably  converse  with  any  one  about  quite  recent  events. 

I  don't  talk  about  this,  but  accept  it  as  an  edict  from  God, 
perhaps  to  punish  me  for  neglectfof  Him,'or  for  some  selfishness 
in  deaUng  with  men  who  deserved  better  treatment  from  me.-^ 
Always  your  loving  and  devoted  servant, 

Garnet. 


Wolseley 


440    THE  LETTERS  OF  LORD  AND  LADY  WOLSELEY 


Villa  La  Tourette,  Mentone," 
23^^  May  1911. 

Lord  My  dearest  OF  DEAR  WoMEN, — I  love  you  as  of  yore,  and 

Woiseiey.  j  f^^j  ^^^.^  ^^^^  ^-^^  j^g^  earthly  thought  that  wiU  pass  through 
my  brain  whilst  dying  will  be  of  you  and  for  you.  I  pray 
that  God  will  admit  me  into  heaven,  and  when  I  get  there — 
if  I  am  permitted  to  do  so — I  shall  take  up  a  commanding 
position  past  which  all  spirits  and  souls  coming  from  our 
country  must  pass,  so  that  I  may  be  sure  of  meeting  you  there. 
I  don't  for  a  moment  think  that  any  one  of  the  comrades  amidst 
whom  I  have  lived  has  had  any  conception  of  how  deep  is  the 
love  I  bear  you.  Indeed,  there  have  been  moments  when  I  did 
not  think  that  even  you  quite  reaUsed  it. 

I  had  no  intention  to  write  like  this,  but  absence  "  makes 
my  heart  grow  fonder.'*  Please  pardon  the  selfishness  that 
seems  to  pervade  this  little  note ;  perhaps  that  quality  has  its 
root  in  the  rich  deep  soil  of  love  that  surrounds  you. — ^Always 
your  loving  husband. 

Garnet. 


On  March  31,  1913,  Lord  Woiseiey  wa,s  borne,  with  every 
mark  of  honour,  through  the  crowded  aisles  of  St.  Paul's  to  the 
space  in  the  crj^t  where  Nelson  and  Wellington  are  also  at  rest. 
Here,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  land  he  served  and  loved,  a 
faithful  soldier  awaits  the  final  Court  of  Inquiry. 

Seven  years  later,  in  the  presence  of  a  group  of  close  friends, 
his  tomb  was  opened  to  admit  the  entrance  of  a  little  casket. 

So,  dust  to  dust,  but  surely  in  joyful  expectation,  husband 
and  wife  sleep  the  Great  Sleep  together. 


Req  :  aet :  d :  eis  Dfie. 


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